


Before the Next Sun Rises

by andthentheybow



Series: sail across the sun [1]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Dramatic Irony, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Found Family, Gen, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, M/M, Magic, Mutual Pining, Rebellion, king george and knight dream au but with a twist, no beta we die like Tubbo at the festival, no villains only moral ambiguity, okay there are some villains, so much dramatic irony, tommy & tubbo friendship supremacy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:41:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 52,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27826918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andthentheybow/pseuds/andthentheybow
Summary: The Kingdom of Manberg and the Pogtopia Rebellion are at war. After the arrest of the rebellion’s leaders, Dream thinks it’s finally over. That is, until General Not Found is revealed to be the lost Prince George, next in line for the throne, and a mage breaks the rebels out of prison.Tasked with taking Pogtopia down, Dream must question his loyalty to the king, to his friends, and to the attractive prince he’s actually starting to like. Said prince just wants his father off the throne, and maybe for the masked knight to stop bothering him. After a disastrous heist gone wrong results in one of Pogtopia's youngest members in the hands of the king, things start going wrong. Very, very wrong.Manberg may be powerful, but the Rebellion isn’t going down without a fight.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Dave | Technoblade & Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit & Phil Watson, Eret & Niki | Nihachu & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Niki | Nihachu & Wilbur Soot, Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit
Series: sail across the sun [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2074038
Comments: 203
Kudos: 368





	1. Mvmt I, Part 1: The Lost Prince Returns

**Author's Note:**

> don't be creepy about content creators, these are my interpretations of their personas, if they're uncomfortable this will be deleted. shipping is only personas of cc's that have said they're okay with it. respect cc boundaries & author boundaries- don't shove this at cc's, etc. again, this fic is entirely personas, which really should be a given by now.
> 
> this... i don't really know what this is. it just kind of happened. enjoy.

If he closes his eyes, he can almost imagine that he’s back at the palace. Maybe he’s at a ball, the murmur of the crowd reaching his ears from his place at the head of the room. The sound crescendos as he ascends to his throne, the people all cheering for him as he turns to face them. These are his people, the group he commands, the kingdom he is destined to lead.

His kingdom is not the nobility in attendance at a ball. These people are not dressed in finery, clapping politely as he stands at the throne. These people are angry, a righteous fury boiling in their veins, dressed in rags they can barely afford due to unjust taxes from the great King David of Manberg. Here, he is not Prince George Davidson, standing in front of his throne. Here he is General Not Found, leader of the Pogtopia Rebellion, standing in front of the podium and preparing to address his people.

He glances back and flashes a grin at Wilbur, who gives him a thumbs-up, and he turns to the people gathered in front of him. They quiet as he focuses his attention on them. They’re here for him, after all, here to listen to him speak and to join the protest. The unjust taxes levied by the king and the prosecution of magic users throughout the kingdom have lasted long enough.

“My people!” George roars, and they roar back in response. He can see the knights on the edge of the crowd, attempting to blend in, and he knows that members of the rebellion are already being dispatched to deal with them. Wilbur will see to that. He just needs to talk. His magic thrums in his chest, a warning, telling him to keep his guard up. “We are here today to protest the cruel and unfair Wheat Tax! Our farmers are already suffering, and yet the king sees fit to charge them more, simply for selling their goods! Our people are already lacking food to eat, and yet the king thinks he is entitled to their hard-earned money simply because of his position of power! Is this something we will stand for?”

The people chorus in unison, a great cry of “No!”, and he grins.

“Is this something we will stand for?” he repeats, and they cry out again. He shouts for another minute or two about people suffering under the tax, about the woman he talked to earlier in the day who was being forced to shut down her bakery, and the assembled react exactly how they’re supposed to. After a few minutes, Wilbur gestures to him from the side- they’re good to go. George nods back, barely perceptible- the protest is ruse, of course it is. While the knights were distracted by the great General Not Found and the people gathered before him, the rest of the rebellion was robbing the local bank blind.

“Continue to boycott!” George cries. “Continue to protest! The king may take our money, but he will not take our spirits!”

There’s another rousing cry from the assembly, and George slips off the podium into the crowd. Wilbur hands him a cloak and he throws it over his shoulders, the added protection quieting his magic a bit. They part ways, disappearing into the crowd, their mission accomplished. Now they just need to get out of here.

Things are never that easy. On the outskirts of the continuing protest, a hand grabs George’s upper arm, swinging him around. Tamping down the magic that only really works on an impulse, he prepares his usual act: a concerned citizen caught in the crossfire. He looks up, sees a familiar bandana, and scowls.

“Heya, General,” the black-haired knight says with a grin. George scoffs and pulls his arm away.

“Sapnap,” he greets respectfully. Sapnap’s got one hand on his sword. George fingers the dagger strapped to his side. His magic- entirely defensive-based, like a whisper in his ears, only coming out when he really needs it- is quiet. Sapnap isn’t a real threat. “You really want to do this right here? In front of all these people?”

“Where else are we going to do it?” Sapnap scoffs. “I could take you down a sketchy alley, if you really wanted, but I can’t promise that we’d be dueling it out. At least, not with weapons.” He finishes this with a suggestive wink.

“You disgust me,” George tells him. “Honestly.” The banter comes easy- he and Sapnap are old friends. Not friends, exactly, but they’ve been playing their little game of cat and mouse since the rebellion began. George has always managed to slip away, but he’s still got a fair amount of scars from their various scuffles.

“Well, we don’t have to fight,” Sapnap offers, as he always does. “You could just come with me.”

“Doubtful,” George snorts. “I’d sooner lick my own boot.”

The protest seems to rise in volume behind them- they both turn to see dozens of people surrounding a circular area, where there’s the sound of metal clashing on metal. Both George and Sapnap are shoving through the crowd in an instant, where the source of the commotion is revealed: Wilbur’s second-in-command, wrestling in the dirt with a knight twice his size.

“Punz!” Sapnap yells out to the knight.

“Tommy!” Wilbur yells at the same time, barreling through the crowd to tackle the knight- Punz- just as he’s about to get a strike in on Tommy. The kid is on the ground, wiping blood from his nose.

“Come on, I can take him!” Tommy cries, pulling himself to his feet. Sapnap, seemingly forgetting about George, approaches. Tommy’s scowl deepens. “Hello, Snapmap.”

“Hello, gremlin child,” Sapnap says. Tommy glances around wildly before turning and sprinting. Sapnap is on him without a moment’s hesitation, getting him down on the ground just as Punz manages to tie Wilbur’s hands behind his back.

“I am not a child,” Tommy says insistently, ignoring the fact that he and his brother are both clearly being arrested. George rolls his eyes. It’s really not a problem- they’ve had high-ranking members arrested before, and they’ve always managed to break them out before the next sun rises.

“General Soot and Tommy Innit,” Sapnap says loudly, securing the ropes around Tommy’s wrists. The people surrounding them look like they want to butt in, most of them prepared to, makeshift weapons at the ready. Wilbur beckons for them to stand down, and they do. These people are loyal to their leaders, because their leaders look out for them. The Pogtopia Rebellion has what people need to have in a government: trust. It’s what makes them so powerful. General Soot says stand down, and the people stand down. 

“You are hereby under arrest for crimes against the Kingdom of Manberg, including but not limited to: robbery, illegal assembly, conspiring against the king, treason, arson-”

“I have not committed arson!” Tommy interjects. George stifles a laugh as he remembers the armory that Tommy and Tubbo set on fire, not even a month ago. Someone bumps his shoulder.

“You think that’s funny?” the stranger says, and George turns to see a- very tall, very heavily armored man. He’s got a white mask over his face, a black smiley face painted onto it, and the insignia of the castle on his breastplate. George considers his options for approximately one moment.

“Yes,” he says, and then he takes off. The crowd parts for him easily, and he knows that the masked knight is hot on his trail. He can hear Tommy yelling again, Wilbur talking over him, and he manages to climb up onto a ladder for a fire escape. He’s fully intending to take to the rooftops, but he barely manages to get on the first platform before the masked knight jumps down in front of him, having swung over the railing.

“How the hell did you do that?” George asks.

“I’m just that good,” the masked knight says, not even giving George a moment before he lunges forward, sending them both tumbling to the ground a full story below. He can feel his magic reaching out, absorbing most of the impact, but he still sees stars, his gaze going white for a moment. If only he was a mage with an actual grasp on his magic- it’s only good for heat-of-the-moment defense, which he could have used before the masked knight lunged at him, thank you very much. He remembers to breathe, his chest rattling from the impact, and the next thing he knows the masked knight has his wrists bound with rope and is throwing him over his shoulder.

“This is incredibly degrading,” George huffs, and the knight wheezes. For a moment, he’s worried that the knight was severely impacted by the fall, and then he realizes that the wheeze is a laugh. He resists the temptation to roll his eyes.

The assembly has been dispersed now, rebels frantically weaving through the crowd to get the protestors to go home before more arrests are made. He can imagine Ranboo running back to their base, informing Niki and Tubbo of what’s happening, preparing for a break-out. It’s not like it’s an uncommon occurrence, they’ve just never had all three of their leaders arrested at once before.

“Oi, General, glad to see you could make it!” Tommy cries as George is loaded into the prison wagon. The masked knight snorts as he deposits George down across from Wilbur, who’s carefully testing the knots on his rope. Tommy, being the gremlin that he is, already has the rope on the ground. Sapnap, sitting next to him, seems to be ignoring it.

The masked knight sits down next to George, pulling the door to the wagon shut. Sapnap hits the side and it begins to move with a lurch. George catches himself from falling into the masked knight, but the man reaches out to steady him anyways. His hands remain on George and he can feel himself blushing, and he’s about to say something when the knight takes the dagger at George’s side and the knife in his boot. He tosses them to Sapnap, who sticks them next to Wilbur and Tommy’s swords in the corner of the wagon.

“How’d you get him, Dream?” Sapnap asks, grinning at George. George glares back.

“Easily,” the masked knight- Dream, what kind of stupid name is Dream- replies.

“Not easily,” George snaps. “You parkoured in front of me, it’s not my fault I can’t jump a full story.”

“It’s not your fault you’re short, you mean,” Dream says teasingly, and George has to restrain himself from punching a royal knight in the face. Not even a royal knight- studying it up close, he recognizes the markings on Dream’s armor. Dream is the Captain of the Guard.

“Nevertheless, here we are,” Wilbur says, sensing George’s desire to hit the man and clearly wanting to prevent that disaster from happening. “Where are you taking us, then? I’m pretty sure we destroyed the nearest prison-”

“Are you kidding?” Sapnap snorts. “We dragged the captain of the guard out for you shits. We’re taking you directly to the palace.”

And oh, if that doesn’t make George’s stomach drop. His magic rises, all alarms blaring. Wilbur manages to keep the blatant panic off his face, but Tommy looks at George with wide eyes. Sapnap doesn’t catch it, but Dream does.

“What, that scare you?” he asks tauntingly.

“No,” Tommy snorts, recovering quickly. “I am a big man, and big men don’t get scared.”

“We don’t know nobody,” Wilbur says quietly, a smile creeping onto his face.

“We don’t know nobody!” Tommy screams. Sapnap winces. George chuckles. Tommy’s been arrested more times than any of them, and more often than not he’s been able to annoy his jailers into just letting him go. Sapnap allows him to continue for nearly five minutes before giving up and gagging him, which both George and Wilbur protest, but it’s not like they can do anything about it.

George knows that they’re drawing closer to the castle when the sounds of a bustling city begin to rise around them. They’ve been riding for nearly an hour. Wilbur is slumped against the side of the wagon, out cold. Tommy is looking disgruntled, alternating between glaring at the knights and glaring at his brother. George has been picking at his nails, a bad habit, trying to fight down the panic bubbling in his stomach, the magic rising in his chest. He’s already being arrested for leading the rebellion, he doesn’t need to add charges of magic use on top of that.

The sounds of the city are getting louder now, and Dream stands and gestures to Sapnap. The knight pulls three burlap bags from somewhere and gestures for Tommy. The kid makes a muffled noise through the gag.

“He said he’s not putting that thing over his head,” Wilbur mutters, clearly less asleep than George thought he was. Of course he’s able to translate Tommy’s muffled words, George thinks.

“Sucks to suck,” Dream says, shoving the bag over Tommy’s head. There are muffled protests, but again, it’s not like they can do anything about it. George allows Dream to slide the bag over his head and stamps down the grateful feeling that it’ll be a little longer before the king sees his face.

Tommy is still struggling, but Wilbur starts to hum. Instantly, George feels a wave of calm wash over him, and Tommy’s movements slow and eventually stop. Wilbur isn’t a mage, either, but his magic is much more controllable, activated by his singing. He stops after a moment, not wanting to give himself away, but it’s enough to keep all three rebels calm.

George can hear the farmer’s market that’s set up just outside the castle, the vendors that are the special exceptions to the cruel taxes, selling to nobility and the higher-classes. He hasn’t been here in nearly four years, never wanting to risk it, and he’s not excited to be back. The wagon comes to a stop as the gates are opened, rolls up to the front of the palace, and comes to a stop again.

“Get out,” Dream orders. “We’re taking you directly to the king and queen.”

Fuck.

They’re marched out of the wagon and into the castle. George can feel the familiar stone beneath his feet, paths that he tread a thousand times in a different life. He swallows roughly, and someone shoves him forward, telling him to move faster. Wilbur and Tommy are stumbling, the paths unfamiliar to them, but George knows when they approach the throne room. He knows exactly how many steps it’ll take to get to the throne once they’re inside (forty-seven). He knows who will be waiting inside. Wilbur’s calm is gone, leaving him with nothing but panic.

“Dream?” a man’s voice calls. George’s breath hitches- it’s been four years, but he still recognizes the voice of his former best friend. “What are you doing?” Of course Bad is here, of course Bad didn’t leave, he’s too loyal to the crown. Damnit to the Nether and back. The three rebels are stopped, more guards surrounding them now, and hands on his shoulders force George to kneel. He knows Wilbur and Tommy are being forced into similar positions next to him, Wilbur in the middle, prepared to take full blame as he always is.

“Rebel leaders,” Dream responds. “The two generals and the second-in-command. Get the king.”

Hurried footsteps. A door opens and closes. Silence. George attempts to control his breathing, four counts in, hold, four counts out. Tommy makes a grumbling noise. Wilbur and a guard both shush him. A door opens and closes again, slower footsteps.

“What’s this?” a monotone voice asks as the footsteps stop, and George can practically feel Wilbur and Tommy both tensing up next to him. This is clearly the voice of Technoblade, their adoptive brother, the head of the king’s personal guard. He’s been spying for the rebellion for nearly two years now, and it’s been nearly six months since they last saw him.

“Rebel leaders,” Dream repeats with a grin, and George can imagine the look on Techno’s face. It’ll be passing for his usual apathetic nature, but his eyes will be screaming with rage, both at the knights for capturing his brothers, and at his brothers for being stupid enough to get caught.

The door opens and closes again. Several pairs of footsteps now, stopping at the throne, and George knows, he just knows, that these are his parents. King David, branded a hero by some and a tyrant by most; Queen Isabella, the kindest person he knows, who doesn’t deserve anything that his father has thrown at her. Bad is doubtlessly with them; he’s probably their official royal advisor by now. Maybe he’s even taken an apprentice. 

George is pulled out of his thoughts by the king clearing his throat, a noise he remembers none too fondly, waiting for Dream to talk.

“My king,” Dream says proudly. “We have managed to capture the three leaders of the self-proclaimed Pogtopia Rebellion.”

“I knew there was a reason you were my favorite,” the king says proudly, and George cringes at his voice. Ender, he didn’t miss his father, not even a little bit. “Show me what you have.”

“Gladly,” Dream says. There’s the sound of the burlap being ripped off Tommy’s head, followed by another muffled noise from the teenager. “Tommy Innit, second-in-command to the Generals of the rebellion.”

“Why is he gagged?” the queen asks, sounding a bit concerned. It sends a pang through his heart that he tries and fails to stamp down. Alright, he missed his mother a little bit. Maybe a lot.

“Trust me, you want him to stay that way,” Sapnap’s voice offers from somewhere to George’s right. At George’s left, Wilbur is hissing muttered instructions to Tommy. He stops as Dream approaches. Another burlap sack ripped off a head.

“General Soot, founder of the rebellion,” the masked knight offers. “Who’s been a pain in the ass for years now. My apologies for my language, Your Majesties.”

“Excused,” the king says with a disgusting chuckle. George can feel the rage boiling in his gut, magic bubbling to the surface, and he knows he’s next, he knows what’ll happen-

“And finally, General Not Found, who has evaded capture for nearly four years.”

The sack is ripped off his head, but his goggles hold firmly in place, thank Ender. George gives himself just a moment to scan over the throne room- guards everywhere, all of them wanting to see the leaders of the rebellion on their knees; Bad standing near the throne, a shy-looking boy behind him; Techno in a corner, arms crossed. He makes eye contact with the king and sees the reason he’s kept his goggles on for four years.

King David, with one blue eye and one brown, a trait proudly passed down through the generations of royalty as a sign of being blessed by the gods. George’s eyes are the same, the goggles hiding them, but based on the queen’s gasp, his mother recognizes him anyways. He grimaces.

“Georgie?” she says, sounding breathless. Reluctantly, he shifts to look at her.

“Take off his goggles,” the king snarls, and someone does. They leave them on top of his head, thankfully, but he blinks sharply as light floods his eyes. His parents are looking at him as if they’ve seen a ghost- hell, half the room is looking at him like they’ve seen a ghost.

“Hi, Mum,” George says with a wince.

“Georgie?” Dream says after a moment of silence. “As in, the long lost Prince George?”

“Oh, my boy,” the queen starts, half-standing. The king gestures for her to sit back down.

“Hello, son,” he says gruffly. “So this is what you’ve been doing?”

George doesn’t dignify him with a response. Someone shoves him forward, as if that will make him talk. Wilbur coughs next to him, clearly trying to hide a laugh. Fucking family reunions.

“Take Soot and the child to the cells to await trial,” the king snarls after a moment. “Bad, send someone to prepare the prince’s room. Dream, you’ll be guarding him-”

“No,” George says loudly, clearly. “I stay with my men.” He can feel the gaze of the room on him as he denies the luxury of his old bedroom. It’s both a show that he’s not going to allow himself better treatment because he’s royalty, and because it’ll make it easier on Tubbo when the kid comes to break them out.

“Very well, then,” the king says. “Take them all to the cells.”

He manages to shove his goggles back down before he’s dragged up. His mother is looking at him as if she wants to say something. He turns away before she gets the chance.

The cell closes with a bang. Instantly, two of the rebels are talking over each other. The lost prince is silent.

“I thought the lost prince was- lost,” Dream says as he and Technoblade walk away from the cells. The keys are swinging in his grasp. Techno throws a look over his shoulder.

“He ran away, four years ago, or somethin’,” Techno says. “King tried to keep it hushed up, didn’t want it ruinin’ his image.” Dream nods, because yeah, that makes sense. He only joined the guard two years ago, rising quickly through the ranks. 

He and Techno are certainly a sight, him with his smiley-face mask and Techno with the bright pink hair braided down his back. And the fact that Techno’s a hybrid- hybrids aren’t rare, necessarily, just uncommon, especially among nobility. Dream may be loyal to the crown, but he can recognize that the government’s got a shitty past, especially with the way hybrids were treated. There are protections now, thanks to some cousin of the king being a hybrid, or something, which he’s glad for. There still aren’t protections for magic users- hell, half the cells are filled with magic users- and there’s the issues of taxes, and corruption, and-

“Get out of your head,” Techno snorts next to him, and Dream chuckles under the mask. He’s here. Sapnap’s here. Bad’s here. His friends are all under the king’s protection, and as a kid that grew up on the streets, that’s all he could ever ask for.

“I’ll see you later, yeah?” Dream says. “I’ve gotta go write up my report. We dueling tomorrow?”

“Sure,” Techno says. They’re pretty evenly matched, their fights a common source of entertainment for knights and nobility alike; what started as a strong rivalry has faded into a sort of camaraderie. For now, the two part ways, Techno heading back to the throne room and Dream heading for the royal artificer’s office, where he knows his friends will be waiting.

Sure enough, they’re all gathered when he arrives, shouting over each other.

“There you are, you muffinhead!” Bad yells instantly, and the room quiets. Bad’s voice is commanding, even though he’s probably the sweetest man Dream’s ever met, contrary to his name and appearance. They don’t know exactly what Bad is, but he looks like he’s just made completely from darkness, other than his glowing white eyes. He’s been in the castle since he was young, and he doesn’t remember anything from before that, but he’s one of the most trustworthy people here, as proven by his title of royal advisor. “We were wondering when you’d show up.”

“I was busy locking up the missing prince,” Dream snorts. “Not Found. Well, we found him!”

“Sure,” Sapnap says with a grin. He’s sitting on top of Skeppy’s desk. Skeppy, the royal artificer, looks vaguely annoyed. When he turns his head Dream can see the diamonds creeping up his neck, the gemstones stuck to his skin by some kind of curse. The royal mage has tried many times to remove it, to no avail.

Said royal mage is one of the only magic users that isn’t imprisoned- his freedom in exchange for working for the king. Sam keeps his face covered, similar to Dream, though he’s much freer about removing his mask. It’s resting on the side of his face now as he grins at Sapnap and Skeppy bickering, his familiar weaving around his feet. The familiar, a beautiful cat called Antfrost, shifts into his human form as he realizes they’re probably going to be there for a while.

Someone runs into Dream from behind, and he turns to see Karl, Bad’s apprentice. Karl apologizes quickly, handing some papers off to Bad, and Sapnap is sucked out of his argument with Skeppy.

“Karl!” he says brightly, making grabby hands. Karl rolls his eyes and allows Sapnap to pull him into an embrace.

“Punz is in medical,” he informs them casually. It’s not uncommon for any of their little group to get injured, as proven by Skeppy cursing and tossing a gold coin to a grinning Sapnap. “Soot managed to stab him, I think, Ponk’s with him right now. They’re asking for you, Sam.”

Sam mutters a curse under his breath and gestures for Antfrost, the two taking off.

“That’s new armor,” Dream mutters. “New design and everything. How the hell did Soot manage to stab him?”

“Beats me,” Karl says with a shrug. “I just saw a lot of blood. The king is pissed, by the way, is that really the prince?”

“He’s got the eyes and everything,” Sapnap points out.

“It’s really him,” Bad says with a nod. “I- I recognized him.” He sounds choked up. Skeppy moves from the desk to wrap an arm around him carefully; of course, Dream thinks, Bad’s been around the castle for forever. He and the prince were probably friends.

“Did someone tell Callahan?” Sapnap asks softly. Another name Dream connects to the prince- his former assistant, who works under Bad now, helping out wherever needed and advising the queen, mostly.

“Not that I know of,” Bad says. “But we should sooner rather than later.”

The conversation moves on from there, mostly to Sapnap complaining about how annoying the teenager was, devolving into all of them bickering as they normally do. Dream can’t help the sinking feeling in his gut that something about this isn’t right. They’ve got the rebels. He should be happy.

Something tells him not to be.

George is immensely pleased to learn that Callahan was informed of his arrival almost immediately. News spreads fast among the castle’s servants. Someone working in the kitchens saw the rebels being dragged in, and word from the kitchens spread to the butlers and maids, more specifically to Alyssa, who dragged Callahan down to the cells as soon as she could. They’re allowed to enter by the guards, who recognize Callahan as George’s former assistant, and soon enough he and Alyssa are both pressed up against the bars, grinning.

“How long do you think?” Callahan asks quietly.

“Oh, we’ll be out before the next sun rises,” George responds with a cocky grin. Tommy echoes this loudly, and Wilbur whacks him, telling him to be quiet. Alyssa laughs.

“Well, with that attitude, anything is possible,” she says. “Forget us feeding you information, you can get it yourself if you keep getting captured.”

George shushes them, but they’re both laughing. Clearly no one is close enough to hear them.

“Who’s guarding right now?” he asks.

“Techno,” Callahan responds. That explains it.

“Tell him to get over here,” Wilbur says, standing up quickly. “I want to talk to him.”

“I dunno, big man-” Tommy starts, but Callahan and Alyssa have already bid their goodbyes and slipped off. Techno appears a moment later, hands hanging awkwardly at his sides. Wilbur and Tommy both just stare at him. George backs himself into a corner- this isn’t his family reunion.

“Well?” Wilbur says after a moment. “Are you gonna unlock the cell and hug your brother, or-”

“Dumbass,” Techno snorts. “How’d you get captured?”

“I was winning against Punz,” Tommy says loudly. “And Wilbur wanted to play the hero.”

George tunes them out, closes his eyes, knows that all three of them are probably pressed up against the bars now as they talk to each other. As much as they fight, he knows they care about each other, in their own way. Part of him wishes he had a sibling like that, but then he remembers where he grew up, and he’s thankful he was the only one.

He isn’t sure how much time has passed- he must have fallen asleep- but when he opens his eyes, Tommy is passed out with his back to the bars. Techno is on the other side, talking quietly to Wilbur, who’s across the cell. George smiles- despite the setting, they all look extremely domestic. That illusion is shattered by a person appearing inside the cell with a burst of purple light.

“Aha!” they exclaim, startling all four people. “I wasn’t sure how close I would need to get to teleport inside!” Tommy blinks the sleep out of his eyes and then breaks into a wide grin.

“Tubbo!” he cries, Techno and Wilbur both shushing him frantically, but the two teenagers collide as if they haven’t seen each other in years. It’s been twelve hours at most, George had to listen to the five-minute lecture Tubbo gave Tommy about staying safe. Clearly, Tommy did not heed his best friend’s advice.

“Hullo, Tubbo,” Techno says with a grin. “You’re all good to get them out?”

“Yes, Mr. Blade, sir!” Tubbo smiles. He’s checking Tommy for injuries, and he turns and does the same to Wilbur, then George. “Fundy and Niki are both outside the city limits, we should be good to go.”

“See you around, Techno,” Wilbur says. George nods at him solemnly, and Techno nods back. Tommy punches him through the bars, and the pig hybrid slips off to make sure no one interrupts their escape.

“Whenever you’re ready, Tubbo,” George says gently. Tubbo is barely a few months older than Tommy, and he’s their resident mage-in-training. Half the rebellion can use some sort of magic, it’s part of the reason they started it in the first place, after all, but none of them can use magic like Tubbo. The boy closes his eyes and holds out his hands, feet planted firmly, and there's a moment where nothing happens. Then purple magic flows from his hands and swirls around the bars of the cell window. After a moment they crack, enough for Wilbur to reach forward and punch them out the rest of the way. Tubbo opens his eyes and grins.

“Out we get,” Wilbur says, gesturing. George goes first, being the shortest, and he chooses to ignore Tommy’s comment about his height as Wilbur boosts him through the window. He waits for Tommy to get through before helping pull Wilbur out. Tubbo teleports next to them a moment later, letting the magic swirl back around the group, focused on hiding them from sight. Wilbur sings quietly, aiding the mage’s spell.

“Okay, good,” George murmurs as the defensive magic in his chest quiets. They’re safe.

“Good,” Tubbo repeats. Wilbur stops humming. They fall silent as a guard on patrol breezes past, never once even looking in their direction. Tommy grins cheekily at Tubbo, and the two take off for the gates at a sprint, climbing over them noisily. Wilbur and George follow at a much more leisurely pace, knowing that they can take their time- George’s built-in alarm system will let them know if something’s going to go wrong.

Tubbo falls into step next to George as they slip through the city. Wilbur and Tommy have pulled ahead, probably talking about Techno.

“So you’re busted?” Tubbo mutters.

“Yeah,” George replies, mindlessly fidgeting with his goggles. “They know now.”

“Took them long enough,” Tubbo says with a shrug. “You’re doing okay?”

“Fine,” he answers with a grin. It’s a bit forced, and the kid can clearly tell, but he doesn’t push it. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

They’re almost out of sight of the castle when George finally allows himself to look back. There are no lights flickering in windows, much too late for anyone to be up and about. Somehow, it feels like he’s abandoning his home all over again.


	2. Mvmt I, Part 2: The Dance Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream is given a job. George gets flirted with. The Rebellion adds “accidental kidnapping” to its list of crimes.

By the time the sun rises, the small group of rebels has made it to the outskirts of the kingdom’s capital city. Tubbo and Tommy are skipping ahead, whispering conspiratorially. Wilbur and George remain behind them, exchanging amused glances every now and then.

Niki and Fundy are waiting for them at the designated meeting point that Tubbo guides them to. Niki hugs the two boys instantly, Fundy leaping forward into Wilbur’s arms. George watches with a fond smile on his face. These are the nice kinds of family reunions, where Niki hastily checks the teenagers over for injuries and Fundy jabbers excitedly to Wilbur about how much they managed to steal during yesterday’s protests.

“George, you’re alright?” Niki asks carefully, glancing him up and down. Niki is the rebellion’s only other full mage, a cleric. She’s in charge of healing- a necessary position- and acts as a big sister to pretty much everyone, despite the fact that she’s barely an adult.

“I’m fine, Niki,” he promises, and she smiles before moving on to Wilbur. He reassures her that he’s fine as well, and based on the way she purses her lips she clearly doesn’t believe him. They don’t have time to dwell on it- early risers will be emerging from their homes soon, heading to work, and this close to the castle, the rebels aren’t the most welcome sight. While Niki and Tubbo are relatively unknown, Wilbur and Tommy’s “Wanted” posters are on every bulletin from here to the next kingdom, George has just been exposed as the lost prince, and Fundy, a fox hybrid, is extremely recognizable.

Fundy leads them to the wagon they’ve got hidden in the trees, set to go on some back paths for the hour’s ride to Pogtopia’s base. He makes sure everyone is settled before snapping the reins on one of the rebellion’s only horses. Thankfully, the horses were all obtained and trained by Techno (with the most love and care that George has ever seen him exhibit), which means they’re extremely good at getting the rebels around fast.

Niki, Tubbo, and Tommy have all started a conversation, mostly the former two listening to Tommy’s account of his arrest. George and Wilbur both turn to talk to Fundy.

“Do you know if they’ve noticed yet?” Wilbur asks. Fundy glances over his shoulder.

“About the money?” he asks. “Not that I know of, but we’ve been waiting here all night. I left Jack in charge.” Wilbur nods. “We already distributed it, though, so it’s not like they’re getting it back.”

George grins. His rebellion is so good, he doesn’t even need to be here. (The second he thinks it, he’s thinking that that’s a lie, that’s totally a lie, the rebellion is literally him and Wilbur and a bunch of kids, he needs to be there as parental supervision if nothing else-)

“Good job, kiddo,” Wilbur says, ruffling Fundy’s hair, and George can see him practically preening under the praise. Fundy isn’t Wilbur’s biological son, but he might as well be. Wilbur took him in shortly after they started the rebellion, a kid orphaned when his village was burned down by a group of rogue knights. He’s become one of their smartest fighters, loyal to the last.

Tommy and Tubbo both fall asleep shortly after the ride begins, smashed together on one side of the wagon. Niki and Wilbur chat quietly on the other, legs tangled together, eyes scanning the trees around them. George shifts up to sit next to Fundy.

“Have we got the next plan going?” he asks quietly. “We were thinking of hitting some villages on the Outskirts next, try to lure them away from the towns too close to base.”

“Right,” Fundy replies. “General heist or protest, were you thinking?”

“General heist. A protest will draw too much attention, especially now.”

Fundy gives him a sympathetic look. “Right. Castle.”

“Castle,” George agrees. He pulls his cloak tighter around him, grateful that they were only stripped of their weapons and not any of their other gear.

The rest of the ride is spent in relative silence. Eventually Wilbur and Niki’s conversation tapers off as they both fall asleep. Occasionally Fundy will offer new ideas for strategies and George will comment on them. By the time they’re back to base, the sun is firmly in the sky, and the four riding in the back are all waking up. There are minor grumbles from the teenagers as Niki shakes them awake before they realize where they are.

“Beat you down!” Tommy yells, and he and Tubbo both take off, bounding through the vines hiding the entrance to the small cave. Niki and Wilbur follow them, much more calmly. George helps Fundy cover the wagon and take care of the horses, nodding to the rebels stationed on watch.

The entrance is a tiny cave, barely ten feet by ten feet wide. The walls are plastered with “Wanted” posters for every member of the rebellion that has them, different sketches and poses and prices for their heads, dead or alive. It’s a running joke that George started when he pinned up a particularly funny picture of Wilbur he found.

The actual base is through a heavy iron door- a huge underground ravine, completely hidden from above, reinforced with as many paths and railings as they could make and continuously expanding. They keep digging in and finding new cave systems as more people join. 

George sees Niki breaking off from Wilbur, likely heading to the medical wing. His fellow General makes eye contact with him and jerks his head in the direction of their joint office. He nods, gesturing for just a moment, as one of their messengers runs up to them.

“Hey, Purpled,” George greets. “What’s going on?”

“News,” Purpled says, out of breath. “About supplies, he’s requesting a meeting-”

“I’ll handle it,” Fundy says, nodding to George. “Walk and talk, kid.” George salutes the two, and they both salute back before taking off in a different direction. He makes his way down to where Wilbur is probably waiting, likely wanting a chance to speak in private.

Their office is one of the most-used rooms, two desks shoved together in a cave that was roughly carved out when they were first starting. There are maps covering every wall, blueprints scattered everywhere, a few chests filled to the brim with materials. Wilbur has cleared a few to the side to sit on his desk, and George carefully closes the makeshift wooden door behind him to try and give some semblance of privacy.

Wilbur’s calm facade has faded completely, his anxiety showing clear on his face. He’s got the look in his eyes that says he’s trying to process everything that just happened and mostly failing.

“How in the nine hells did you get caught?” Wilbur demands immediately. George sighs and runs a hand through his hair, slipping off his cloak.

“I don’t know,” he answers honestly.

“You’ve never been caught before,” Wilbur presses. “Four years, not once.” His voice drops. “Did your magic- did it fail you?”

“No,” George says, shaking his head. He pauses, thinking back- normally when knights lunge at him, his magic reacts, blasting them back to keep them away, giving him a chance to run. That’s how he’s never been caught. But when Dream lunged at him, nothing happened, other than the two going toppling over the fire escape. “Er- yes, actually.”

“How did Dream get the jump on you?” Wilbur asks. “You’re slippery, and he’s massive-”

“He’s the captain of the fucking guard,” George mutters. “He’s- ender. He’s good. He launched himself up a story and tackled me back down without even breaking a sweat.”

“Did you recognize him?” Wilbur asks. He’s rooting through one of the chests now, and he pulls out a bottle of something triumphantly. His face falls as he looks back to George. “From- from before, I mean?”

“No,” George says again. “He- not his voice, not his face, anything.”

“Did you see his face?”

George snorts. “I didn’t recognize the stupid smiley face mask, then. Trust me, I don’t think I’d forget that. Thing’s creepy.”

“It’s stupid, that’s what it is,” Wilbur says. He uncorks the bottle with his teeth and pours two glasses, handing one to George. They clink the drinks together and then down them. George grimaces. Wilbur pours himself a second glass.

“What the fuck is that?” George asks. “It’s disgusting.”

“No idea,” Wilbur admits, swallowing harshly. “So. Captain of the guard is after us now. That’s some pretty big attention. We’ll still go through with the Outskirts heist tomorrow?”

“We could maybe push it back a day. I don’t want to test our luck. They probably know that we have a mage, now, Tubbo’s not exactly good at covering his tracks.”

There’s a harsh pounding on the door, and it opens a moment later without either of them saying anything. Jack Manifold stumbles in, uniform disheveled, and salutes them both quickly.

“At ease,” George says, rolling his eyes. As much as he and Wilbur try to make the rebellion less formal, they still hold the titles of General, and the rebels respect their authority. Pogtopia is a chaotic mess, sure, but it’s well-organized, the product of two years of meticulous planning and trial heists before Not Found and Soot went public with their intentions of overthrowing the king.

“Fundy left you in charge?” Wilbur asks, one eyebrow raised. Jack attempts to smooth out his uniform, face red.

“Niki’s yelling for you, Tommy told her about the bruised ribs,” Jack answers. Wilbur curses and George laughs. The other General flips him off as he brushes past them and out the door- no one wants to piss off Niki. 

As Wilbur slips out, Ranboo slips in, saluting much more lazily and dropping his arm almost immediately. He wears his sunglasses almost as often as George, hiding bright red eyes. They think he’s some sort of enderman hybrid, or maybe an imp- he’s another kid that left a burned-down village and got adopted by the rebellion.

“Fundy’s asking for you, General,” he says. “Something about supplies.”

“Right,” George says with a nod. He glances around the room, spots the bottle and empty glasses sitting on the desk, and turns to look at the two. “Don’t get any funny ideas.” Ender, why is this whole rebellion made up of fucking kids.

“We would never,” Jack says with a grin, and George beckons them out of his office with a good-natured scowl.

Normally, King David of Manberg is not an unreasonable man (at least, not to the people that work for him). He gives his knights and his servants fair wages, days off, sick leave, all the things a good boss would do. They escape the wrath he lays on the rest of the kingdom, and in exchange, they’re loyal, and occasionally they listen to him devolve into fits of anger.

Thus, Dream’s head nearly hits the table for the thirteenth time this hour (he’s been counting) as the king continues on his ramble about how the rebels were locked up in the castle and still managed to get away. He knows all of this information already, and besides, the king’s been repeating the same thing for the past twenty minutes now, just louder and angrier.

Every important knight- meaning the king’s personal guard, Dream, and Dream’s friends- are currently seated around the long table in the room that they only use when the king wants to talk to them. Punz and Sapnap are playing some sort of game under the table. Ponk has his head propped up by both hands, eyes wide in a clear attempt to stay awake. Technoblade is standing in one corner, arms crossed, fidgeting with the end of his braid. Two of the king’s personal guards are asleep, the other two not even bothering to pretend to be paying attention. Bad is also present, currently standing behind Dream, though he’s been flitting around the room nervously the entire time.

“Your Majesty,” Techno says eventually, finally cutting in as the king picks up a dagger and looks like he’s about to chuck it at the wall. “Attackin’ the wall isn’t gonna do anythin’.”

“You’re right,” the king huffs. He turns to look around the room, the change in tone snapping everyone to attention. His eyes land on Dream. “I want Pogtopia gone.”

“Yes, sir,” Dream says with a lazy grin. He knows where this is going.

“I want their leaders arrested.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I want every sympathizer taxed and jailed.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And I want my son’s head on a stick.”

Wait- what?

“Uh,” Techno says, clearly taken aback. Looking around the room, pretty much all of them seem surprised. “Are you sure that’s the best idea, Your Majesty?”

“Even if he’s being tried as a criminal, killing him is an unforgivable act,” Bad points out. He’s standing behind Sapnap, now, the knight craning his neck backwards to watch his friend. “Both in the eyes of the law and of the people.”

“I said I want his head on a stick, not that I want to be the one to put it there,” the king snarls.

“Ordering him to be killed also- also counts as a capital offense,” Bad counters, clearly terrified at the rage being directed at him. “Any participation in the death of a member of the royal family is punishable by death. Even if you’re the- the king. Sir.”

“Right,” the king grumbles. “Right. Alright. Dream.”

“Yes, sir,” Dream says, snapping his gaze from Bad back to the king.

“Scratch that last one. Arrest him, bring him here with the others, but we are not going to let them get away this time. You’re in charge of this- this manhunt. I want every member of the Pogtopia Rebellion jailed.” ‘Or killed’ is left off, but based on the look in the king’s eyes, it’s heavily implied. Dream nods. Another day of duty calling.

There’s a polite knock on the door. Bad, who’s been bouncing from foot to foot, dashes to open it. Sam is standing awkwardly on the other side, Antfrost curled around his shoulders.

“Your Majesty,” Sam says politely, bowing his head. “I finished my check of the cell.”

“And?” the king asks.

“No sign of them. Wherever they ran off to, they covered their tracks well. However, I was able to discern that it was not force that broke the bars, rather, magic.” He pauses for dramatic effect. The king stares at him blankly.

“They have a mage, sir,” Sam offers. “Who is- less adept at hiding his presence. Evidence of teleportation, telekinesis, likely a cloaking spell of some kind preventing me from tracking them.”

“A mage,” the king says.

“Like, a fully-fledged mage?” Sapnap asks nervously. “A you mage?”

“A me mage,” Sam agrees. “Again- less adept, probably in training, probably a kid like all the other people they have working for them- but still. They’ve got magic.”

“Magic,” the king snorts. “Even more reason to have them gone. Dream- forget any other duties. Technoblade will handle them. I want you and your men spending every waking hour tracking down and destroying this rebellion.”

“Yes, sir,” Dream agrees. With that, the king storms out of the room, Techno and the rest of his personal guards following him. Bad scurries after, waving goodbye quickly. They wait for a moment or two before collectively letting out a breath of relief.

“Oh my ender, he’s terrifying,” Sam lets out, lifting a hand to move his mask to the side of his face. “How does he do that? Any one of us could take him down. Ant could probably take him down. In cat form.”

“He’s the king?” Sapnap offers. “That’s gotta count for something.”

“He said he wants his son’s head on a stick,” Ponk informs them. “Exact words.”

“If I were king and my only kid was trying to overthrow me, I’d probably want him gone too,” Punz says with a shrug. “He’s a threat, not to mention a blood traitor.”

“So we kill the guy?” Sam asks. His familiar leaps off his shoulders and shifts to his human form, glaring.

“We’re not doing jack shit,” Antfrost snaps. “No leaving the castle. Remember?”

“Oh, good, so we’re not there when Dream kills the prince,” Sam snorts. Dream’s about to object, because something in his gut is desperately telling him to not kill the prince. He doesn’t even know what it is- he doesn’t know the guy, he doesn’t care- so he tries to stamp it down before he snaps at someone.

“Nobody is killing George,” Sapnap says for him, his voice low, eyes dark. “He may be a traitor, but he’s still part of the royal family.”

“Nobody is killing him,” Dream reiterates. Punz and Ponk both offer confirmation immediately. “You heard the king. Every waking second we’re working on taking Pogtopia down. Sam-”

“Yeah, we’ll help,” Sam says with a nod. He and Ant look less than pleased about it, but neither of them want to end up jailed.

“Alright. We need to look through everything we have on the rebellion so far. We need to analyze everything, put together all the information on past rebel activity, try and track down their base locations. Leave no stone unturned. If we predict where they’re going to hit next, we can be waiting for them.”

The five gathered look at Dream, waiting for him to assign roles. He allows himself a moment to revel in the trust they have in him, despite the fact that all of them have been here longer than him. They trust him, and he trusts them, and that’s how they’re going to burn this fucking rebellion to the ground.

“Sam, start prepping anything useful you can think of for us to use against their mage,” Dream says. “I don’t care what resources you have to use to do it, talk to Skeppy about getting stuff, tell Bad you’ve got explicit permission from me to spend as much money as you need.”

“Oh, the budget will hate that,” Ant snorts.

“Ponk, Punz, check the records, start compiling information. Sap, you probably know General Not Found best, you’ve nearly captured him every time you’ve been around-”

“‘Nearly’ being the key word there,” Ponk snorts, and Sapnap punches him on the shoulder.

“You’re with me, we’re heading to their last hit to see if there’s anything they might have left behind.” He glances around to make sure he’s understood, and with a firm nod, the masked knight prepares for war.

George knew, he fucking knew, that they should’ve pushed this shit off. Because yeah, they were all prepared to hit the Outskirts even before their arrest, at this rate they’re constantly planning at least three strikes ahead, but their preparations mean nothing if they’re distracted.

He doesn’t even know why he’s so out of it today- he’s meant to be on guard, making sure no government officials are going to come storming into the bank while Ranboo and Fundy slip around below. Part of him is hoping for Dream, which is absolutely fucking stupid, thank you very much, there’s literally no reason that he should be feeling disappointed, of all things, when his scans of the crowd provide no sign of the masked knight.

Of course, no Dream means a much better chance of getting away, so a majority of him is glad. It’s just a tiny part that’s disappointed, and he puts that down to mere intrigue at the fact that the knight didn’t set off his magic. And the whole parkour thing, which normally would be kind of hot but the more George thinks about it the more it just pisses him off. He could’ve gotten away, easy, and then he wouldn’t be in this whole mess of being distracted, and-

Oh, there’s Wilbur. Inside the bank. Where he is not supposed to be. Brilliant. Wilbur’s been off his game today, too, very obviously worried about Tommy and not even trying to hide it. The kid’s been getting more and more ambitious about what they can do, even despite knowing full well that they’ve got the captain of the guard hot on their trail now.

Speaking of the captain of the guard. There’s a smiley face mask resting carefully on the face of an unarmored man walking up to the bank tellers. George snorts from his hiding spot in the corners of the building. Someone ought to tell him that in order to be inconspicuous you have to take away identifying traits.

“We have a problem,” Wilbur mutters, sliding along the wall next to George. Nobody pays them any mind- it’s the mid-day rush, people using the bank as a gathering place, many standing around waiting for friends to be done. They don’t look suspicious, even as disguised as they are.

“No kidding,” George replies, nodding his head toward the knight. Wilbur lets out a string of curses.

“I was going to say that the bandana guy- Snapmap?- he’s got the exits blocked off,” Wilbur informs him. “They know. They definitely know.”

“Get out of here,” George mutters. Heists have gone south before, they both know how this is gonna go. Any second now, Fundy’s going to come sprinting up from nowhere, cause a complete panic, and the rebels will slip off in the commotion. With the knights here, it might be a different story. “Get everyone not trapped and get out. I’ll handle the knights.”

His magic is going crazy, something’s going to happen, something’s going to happen-

“Go!” he repeats, a bit louder, startling the people near them. Wilbur gives him one last strong look- a ‘make it back or I’ll track you down and kill you’ look- and then he turns and leaves the building. George lets out a sigh and thanks ender that Wilbur’s being an overprotective older brother today.

He can feel the magic in his chest peaking, and sure enough, the doors behind the bank tellers burst open, a figure bursting out right on time. George can’t help but grin at the immediate chaos that unfolds; when he needs to get them out of situations like these, Fundy swallows his pride and goes full feral, scampering over tables, sending small artifacts flying, and generally being a menace.

George’s eyes lock on Dream, who’s pulled an axe out of nowhere and is trying to keep people calm. The knight shrugs off his coat, revealing his armor, and people flock to him as he directs them outside. George takes the opportunity to grab Fundy’s arm and pull him aside.

“Ranboo’s still down there,” Fundy huffs. “With, like, all of the gold.”

“I’ve got him,” George says, thinking fast, eyes scanning the room as he tries to come up with a plan. He throws his cloak over Fundy’s shoulders and pulls the hood up. “Get out of here, find Wilbur and go, I’ll send him after you.”

“But-” Fundy starts to protest, and George gives him a forceful shove as another group of panicked people streams out of the building. He draws his sword, lets an easy grin slide onto his face, and strides out of the shadows. It’s been a while since he’s had a one-on-one duel, and he figures Dream will be a worthy opponent.

Honestly, he figures Dream could kick his ass, easy money, but he doesn’t need to win. He just needs him distracted enough for Ranboo to slip out with the gold.

“Oh, Dream,” he calls, the knight whirling on him instantly.

“General Not Found!” the knight calls back, and he sounds… giddy, almost. “Or should I call you Prince George?”

His smile drops into a scowl.

“General is fine, thanks,” he says. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I didn’t expect you, either,” Dream replies. The room is mostly clear, now, and the two begin circling each other, assessing. “I thought the rebellion would keep you all locked up, nice and safe.”

“Please,” George snorts. “Aren’t you the one that said I’ve been a pain in your ass for years? Evading capture, and all that?”

“Well, I must say I’m honored to be the first one to take you down. And I’ll be honored to be the first one to do it twice.”

With that, he strikes, lunging forward and going straight for a hit. George sidesteps easily, but Dream doesn’t stop, just curves around to hit from the side. George blocks, the sound of diamond on diamond crashing through the bank, echoing. They circle again, and this time George is the one to make the first move, feinting to the left before diving at Dream’s right leg. He manages to grab it, sending them both crashing to the floor, and Dream actually laughs.

“Giving up on duelling already?” he asks. They pull themselves to their feet, and George stops, keeping Dream’s back to the doors. Out of the corner of his eye, George sees Ranboo, hovering nervously behind the counter.

“Draw a sword, make it a little more even,” George retorts. “You’ve got full armor and I’ve got nothing.”

“Oh, come on now. That’s not my fault.”

But he swings his axe back to its place on his back and draws a diamond sword, twirling it from his right hand to his left. George rolls his eyes.

“Showoff,” he mutters.

“You like it,” Dream replies. George flips him off, and then they’re at it again, both of them attacking at the same time, swords clashing. It goes on for nearly three minutes, neither of them able to get the upper hand, until George sees Fundy sneaking back in, grabbing several large bags, and sneaking back out.

The momentary distraction is enough to give Dream the upper hand, and George is immediately put on the defensive. Dream’s backing him up, probably trying to trap him. He hasn’t been aiming to kill this entire time (which, to be fair, neither has George), but that means he probably has orders to bring George in alive. Good to know that his father will still follow the law, even if his son’s a traitor.

“You’re actually fairly competent,” Dream says after one particularly good block.

“Don’t sound so surprised,” he snorts in response, countering with a strike of his own.

“Who trained you?”

“Does it matter?”

It does matter. Wilbur’s father and brother trained him. A year before they convinced Technoblade to get involved, he and Philza were stopping by, saw the tiny ravine base they had going, and figured they could use some training. He’s not about to expose Phil, and he’s certainly not about to expose Techno.

“I guess not,” Dream snorts. “I didn’t think the prince would know how to fight. Raised to be a diplomat, and all that.”

“What about this seems diplomatic to you?” George snorts.

“Point.” They exchange strikes for another moment, and then his back hits something- a large pillar, that’s not good- Dream’s raising his arms- and then he’s trapped George between himself and the stone column behind him. He’s impossibly close, they’re both breathing hard, and ender, if this isn’t the start of the most cliche thing in the whole world-

“Surrender?” Dream asks. His expression is hidden behind the mask, but George can imagine the smug grin. Behind Dream, he sees Ranboo with several more large bags, halfway to the door.

“Never,” he snarls, and stomps on the knight’s foot. Dream startles, George tackles him, and Ranboo makes a run for it, out the doors faster than the blink of an eye. Dream manages to get the upper hand on George again, sword opening a cut on his arm, and George curses loudly.

“For a prince, you’ve got awful language,” Dream tells him. George rolls to avoid the blunt end of Dream’s axe- when did he pull that back out?- and it goes slamming down into the tiled floor beneath him.

“Yeah?” he asks, panting. “Fuck you.”

He props himself up on his elbows just as Dream levels his sword at his neck.

“It’s over, General,” Dream says, and he can imagine that the cocky grin is back. Yeah, this is looking like the end, his magic is going crazy but it’s not doing a single ender-damned thing to help him out here. Which, thanks, super awesome.

Fine. If his own magic won’t help him, he’ll use someone else’s.

“Not quite,” he says, slipping a potion out of his pocket. He had it on him just in case things went south, and he’s glad he did now. Dream backs away nervously, then laughs and reaches forward to snatch the potion from George’s grasp.

“Come on now, you think you’re gonna get that past me? You weren’t even trying to hide it.” He’s doing that weird wheezing thing that George remembers is laughter, and he smashes the bottle at his feet.

George doesn’t even bother trying to hold back his grin as Dream visibly startles, the potion taking effect immediately.

“What was that?” he demands. “What did that just do?”

“Splash potion,” George says. “What, do they not teach you about the things you’re fighting?”

“You planned that,” Dream snarls. “You knew I’d break it.” He doesn’t wait for an answer. “What did it do to me?”

“Weakness potion,” George replies. “Which means I can just get up and-”

He doesn’t even bother finishing his sentence as Dream drops to the ground. Techno is standing behind him, sword still raised from striking the other knight in the head.

“Oops,” he says, voice monotonous as ever. George groans and lets his head drop back to the ground.

“Did you really have to do that?” George asks. “I had it handled.”

“Sure you did,” Techno snorts, reaching out a hand to help him up. He takes it gratefully, looking down at the now-unconscious Dream. “Was that even a weakness potion?”

“Nah,” George snorts. “It was like, fire resistance, or some shit, I dunno, I just grabbed the first one I saw.”

Techno chuckles. “Risky.”

“Don’t give me the lecture. What are we going to do with him?”

“I’ll just take him back to the castle-”

“And what are you gonna say, huh?” George cuts him off. “You just so happened to have followed him on his semi-secret mission that you weren’t involved in?”

“Sapnap’s here, he could take him back-”

“Sapnap knows that Dream would easily take me down. Not to mention the fact that he’s a giant, and I’m short.”

“Yeah, you are.”

George ignores the comment. “There’s no way I could do to him what you just did.”

“What are you suggestin’, George?”

“I’m suggesting that we need a new plan, Techno.” He tries to spit out the pig hybrid’s name with as much spite as he can muster, but he knows it probably just comes out as tired. Techno sighs.

“We could take him with us,” he offers.

“Oh, I did not just hear that come out of your mouth,” George snaps. Techno shrugs. “Kidnapping? Really?”

“It’s a solution to the problem, George.”

George rubs a hand over his face and looks down at the masked knight. He’s tempted to take the mask off, but he feels like that would be a violation of privacy, and he’s not a dick. He’s curious, but he wears his goggles for a reason. Obviously Dream wears the mask for one, too.

He considers the pros and cons of kidnapping Dream and comes up with very long lists on both sides. Eventually, he turns to Techno.

“Fine. But you’re explaining to Wilbur why we’ve got the captain of the guard with us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments/kudos/etc make my heart happy


	3. Mvmt II, Part 1: Things Go Wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George has a few discussions. Dream makes a choice. Tubbo suffers the consequences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so,,,, how we feeling after those streams,,,, ha ha,,,,

“Okay, before you say anything-” George starts.

“What the fuck,” Wilbur interrupts immediately. Techno scoffs and rolls his eyes, depositing Dream onto the wagon they’ve got waiting in the trees. The rebels are gathered a good few miles away from the village they just robbed blind. Fundy and Ranboo are counting out the bags of gold with expressions of glee. Tommy is circling around them with a scowl on his face, still upset about not being part of the heist team. Tubbo, permitted to come with this time instead of waiting farther off after the disastrous outcome of their last heist, is attempting to calm him down.

“Listen,” George says. “It was necessary-”

“We’re not taking hostages, George, that’s not what we do,” Wilbur snaps, striding over to examine the unconscious knight. “Techno-”

“I’m takin’ responsibility,” Techno huffs. “I’m the one that knocked him out.”

“Fine,” Wilbur says, taking a deep breath. “Fine, we’ll just find somewhere to lock him up for a bit, threaten the king with him-”

“Bullshit,” George mutters. “Guys, start loading the wagon- Will- we’re not gonna threaten anyone with him.”

Wilbur gives him a look. George huffs. “The whole time we were fighting- nothing. Not once. My magic trusts him completely, and trust me, that confuses me as much as it confuses you-”

He looks to Techno for help. The knight sighs and starts explaining to Wilbur their rationale. Somewhere along the line, the rest of the rebels manage to get everything loaded up in the wagon.

“Alright,” Wilbur says. “Alright, we’ll just- hold onto him until we figure out what to do.”

“I’ve gotta head back to the castle, I’ve already been away too long,” Techno mutters. “King thinks I’m runnin’ errands or some shit.”

“We’ll see you later, then,” Wilbur says, shaking his hand. George offers him a salute, the rest of the rebels following suit, and the knight takes off.

The ride back to base is a few hours, and in that time, they manage to count everything out completely. Fundy and Tubbo start plans for distribution, Ranboo and Tommy keeping a close eye on Dream. George and Wilbur sit at the front, muttering arguments back and forth about what they could possibly do with the knight.

There’s brief chaos when they make it back to the ravine, people clamoring to get the wagon unloaded. Luckily there are no injuries, other than the unconscious Dream and whatever George sustained from their duel. Once everything else has been taken care of, Wilbur and George both stare at Dream, sitting in the wagon that Fundy needs to put away.

“I can’t carry him,” George says, hands raised. Wilbur growls something that sounds like ‘twink’ that George chooses to ignore and hoists Dream over his shoulder.

“What happened?” Niki asks as they cart Dream in. She stares for a moment, but gets over herself quickly, already grabbing medical supplies.

“We took a captive,” Wilbur announces. He sets Dream down on the bed nearest to the wall. “I’m gonna go find some rope, tie him up.” George almost argues, but figures that Wilbur is probably right. Niki instructs him to start getting Dream’s armor off, and they leave his mask untouched.

“There’s no injuries on his face,” Niki says, doing that thing she does when she’s healing someone where her eyes glow white. “Just his leg and the back of his head. I’m not going to heal him with magic now because I don’t want his magic to attack me, I’ll just take care of it the normal way. George, are you-”

She turns to him and frowns at the bloodstains in several places.

“Yes, I’m injured,” he drawls, and she snickers at the look on his face. She sets a hand on his shoulder and closes her eyes, and he can feel the small wounds closing instantly. He feels much better after, like he was just given a warm hug.

“Thank you,” he says, and Niki nods. Wilbur comes back and ties Dream’s right wrist to the bed.

“Good enough,” the general says with a shrug. “Niki-”

“You’re okay?” she asks, turning to him instantly. She grabs his arms as she checks him over, and George can see him stifle a laugh as he puts his hands on her shoulders. He turns away and sits down next to Dream, feeling like he’s intruding on something private. He stays there for a few hours, making sure the knight isn’t going anywhere, and eventually Wilbur and Fundy rush back in.

“We’re heading out for distribution,” Wilbur says. “Should be back by dawn.”

“Be careful!” Niki calls.

“Always am!” he calls back. “Keep an eye on Dream, yeah?”

“Will do,” George confirms, and he and Wilbur salute each other before the other general takes off.

Dream wakes up with the back of his head pounding and a bitter taste in his mouth.

The first thing he does is reach up for his mask- still secure on his face, good. His right hand is tied down, but his left hand isn’t. He’s in a bed, and there’s a bandage wrapped around the cut on his leg that he doesn’t think George realized he gave him. He’d almost think he was back at the palace, if it weren’t for the fact that he’s tied down and the second that he gives indication that he’s awake, there’s the cold press of a blade at his throat.

“Hey, Big D,” an annoyingly familiar voice says, and Dream holds back a groan as he blinks his eyes open. He’s expecting bright lights and instead is met with dim torchlights and a wide grin.

“Please don’t call me that,” he spits out, attempting to sit up. Tommy tuts and presses the knife dangerously close to his neck, and he lays back down, settling for turning his head to the side. The kid is grinning, his grip on the knife loose- Dream could take him down, easy, but the fact that he’s in an actual bed indicates that he’s probably at the rebellion’s base. While he doesn’t doubt that he could get out, he doesn’t really want to fight the entire rebellion to do it.

“D-man,” Tommy offers. “D-money. Little D?”

“No, maybe, definitely not.” He scans the room- it’s a med-bay, of sorts, with several beds and at least three hallways leading in different directions. They’re clearly in a man-made cave, probably far underground, and there’s a person sitting next to Tommy, leaning against the wall, passed out cold.

“Oh, George,” Tommy says loudly. “Our prisoner is awake, George.”

The lost prince mutters something under his breath and rubs his eyes, sees that Dream is, in fact, awake, and hurriedly shoves his goggles down from where they were resting on top of his head. A woman hurries in from one of the hallways, beckoned by Tommy’s call. Dream sees another figure hovering in the doorway, strategically out of sight.

“Thanks, Tommy, you can go now,” George says. Tommy sheathes his knife and sends Dream another large grin.

“Whatever you say, big man,” he says with a very over-the-top salute. Dream hears the other figure start muttering the second he’s out the door, and it sounds like another kid. Of course there’s another kid, why would Tommy be the only one? Although he’s pretty sure Tommy and Wilbur are brothers, and being here will probably be able to prove it, which is something he can use to his advantage-

“Your leg,” the woman is saying. He startles and looks up to see her and George both staring at him. She has a mask covering her nose and mouth, so he can’t make out any of her features, but she sounds young, too.

“Sorry, what?” he asks.

“I’m going to fix your leg,” she says. “I didn’t want to do it while you were asleep in case you attacked me.”

“How could I attack you if I was asleep?” he asks. George coughs something that sounds like a disguised laugh. The woman huffs.

“If you have magic,” she says. “First time I tried to heal Tommy while he was out, he blasted me into next week. I wanted to make sure you wouldn’t kill me. Are you going to attack me if I heal you?”

“Tommy has magic?” Dream asks, because honestly, he never would’ve guessed.

“Are you going to attack me if I heal you?” the woman repeats.

“I guess not?” Dream says, looking at George. George is not paying attention. “I don’t have magic, I mean.”

“Hm,” the woman says softly. She peels the bandage on his knee back and damn, that’s a lot worse than he thought it was. She extends both hands over it, and he startles and scrambles back as something starts- ender, he doesn’t even know what she’s doing. A soft white light weaves its way around the injury, and he watches it heal before his eyes, leaving his skin good as new.

“Holy fuck,” he says softly, and the woman giggles. “You’re the mage?”

“The mage?” she asks. George sits up and sends her a look. “I mean- I’m a mage, technically, yes, but I prefer the term cleric. I’m just a healer. Niki,” she offers, extending a hand.

“Dream,” he replies, shaking it awkwardly with his untied hand. “I- thank you. If you don’t mind me asking, why’d you heal me? And why aren’t I, like, in a cell?”

“We’re not animals,” Niki replies. George coughs again, and she sends him a look. “Alright, some of us are. Wilbur wasn’t pleased.”

“What Wilbur doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” George mutters. “Don’t get any funny ideas, there are still plenty of people here to take you down.”

“Well, now that I’m healed, are you gonna lock me up?” Dream asks.

“Depends,” George snorts. “Are you gonna try and escape the second I untie you?”

“Yes,” Dream answers honestly.

“Then I guess we’ll keep you here in this nice comfortable bed. While you heal, of course,” Niki says with a wink. She slips off the face mask and ok, yeah, she barely looks like an adult. He almost says something, but based on the look that George is giving him, he probably shouldn’t.

“I guess so,” he replies. Niki returns down the hallway she originally came from, leaving just Dream and George in the room. “Seriously,” Dream mutters. “Why am I here?”

“Why are you in our medbay, or why did we kidnap you?” George asks bluntly.

“I- both, honestly, so you admit this is a kidnapping?”

George considers this for a moment, shrugs, and then says, “We didn’t have kidnapping on our list of crimes. Figured we might as well add it. We kidnapped you because- I mean, why not? You’re powerful. You’re important to the king. You’re in our medbay because we injured you and I wanted to make sure you got treated before we threw you in a cell and started negotiating your release with the king.”

“So I’m a hostage. Fun. I don’t think I’ve ever been a hostage before.” He sends George a grin, quickly remembers that the other man can’t see it, and drops the face. “Thank you for keeping my mask on, by the way. You didn’t-”

“We didn’t take it off,” George rushes to assure him. “Niki could tell that your face wasn’t injured.”

“I take it she’s not the mage that broke you out, then, if she’s just a healer? She seems pretty competent, and our mage said the one that broke you out was shit at hiding their tracks-”

“You have a mage?” George blurts. “Sorry, I just-”

“No, yeah I get it,” Dream says. “I mean- it’s been a while, since you were at the palace, and all. His name’s Sam, he’s got a familiar called-”

“Antfrost,” George finishes with a nod. “Yeah. He was arrested right before I- right before I ran away.” He seems to have absentmindedly reached over and is now untying Dream’s wrist.

“What are you doing?” Dream asks.

“Giving you a tour,” George replies, as if this should be obvious. He gestures for Dream to stand up, gripping one wrist tightly.

“Are you- are you allowed to do that?” Dream asks. George is tugging him out the door now.

“Yes?” he says, glancing over his shoulder. He is- shit, he’s very small. His hand doesn’t even completely wrap around Dream’s wrist. This is not something he should be thinking about. “I’m literally the co-leader, Dream, I can do whatever the hell I want.”

“So you’re- what, you’re gonna take me around, show me all your secret plans and stuff?” he questions.

“I could just take you to the cells.”

“I mean- a tour is fine.”

“Good, because we don’t actually have cells. We’ve never taken a prisoner before.” He finishes this with a bright grin thrown over his shoulder. Dream can feel his face getting red. They’re outside the medbay now, and- ender, they’re in an underground ravine. Lanterns hang off every wall, rails and paths going up as far as the eye can see. There are people strewn everywhere, and Dream silently makes the comparison to an ant farm and immediately crosses that thought out of his mind.

“OI!” George yells, his voice echoing throughout the entire ravine. “The knight’s out! If you’re not wanted, scatter!”

There are hurried movements from around, but most people don’t seem to care.

“We’re very bad at staying undercover,” George mutters as two people brazenly walk past them. “At least half of us are wanted from here to the other side of the kingdom for something or other, rebellion or not.”

“How the hell have you been hiding this all this time?” Dream replies, looking up in awe. “Ender, this is- this is something.”

“We’re underground,” George shrugs. “And we’re good at what we do. Wilbur and I met, oh, a week after I ran away? We’ve been doing this ever since.”

“Holy shit,” Dream mutters. He catches himself almost immediately- he’s supposed to be taking Pogtopia down, not marveling in awe at its grandeur. Well, grandeur is a strong word- it’s a dingy rebellion made up of kids that made its base in an underground ravine. It’s nothing fabulous. Just the fact that it hasn’t fallen apart yet- half of him doesn’t even want to tear it down.

The other half is screaming for blood. The other half wants to see it burn, tells him to do his job. He stamps that half down while General Not Found is standing next to him.

“So,” George says. “Welcome to Pogtopia. If you want the official tour we give to new recruits-”

“It’ll have to wait,” a semi-familiar man says, rushing up to them. It’s a fox hybrid, Dream recognizes him from wanted posters, he’s a very public member of the rebellion. Fundy, possibly related to Wilbur in some way, no confirmation on that. He gives Dream a look, obviously noting the fact that the knight has exactly no restraints, and then turns back to George. “Will’s back, he wants to talk to the prisoner immediately.”

“Brilliant,” George snorts. “Change of plans, Dream, we’re gonna go figure out what we’re doing with you. Fundy, make sure Tommy and- his friend are out of the way, yeah?”

The way George’s voice catches in the middle of his sentence- Dream knows who Tommy is, obviously, but ‘his friend’ is probably someone whose name isn’t known, is likely the figure that was hiding out of sight in the doorway earlier, and if George’s avoidance of his name is anything to go by, there’s a chance that that’s the mage. Which means there’s a chance the mage is a kid, which really, really should not surprise him at this point.

“Will do, General,” Fundy says with a grin. He shoots Dream another glance before he takes off, bounding down the stone path.

“I have no fucking clue where Wilbur is,” George snorts. “We’ll take you to the office, pray there’s nothing important out, ender-”

Ender, indeed. These are the people that the king’s been complaining about for years? These are the people whose movements he spent so long analyzing, even before the king put him on the job? They’re so disorganized, it’s a wonder they’re still going-

And then he remembers that pure determination can do that to people. Magic users are upset with the king, commonfolk are upset with the king, ender, Dream would probably be upset with the king, except for the fact that the king delivers his paycheck and keeps Dream well-fed and with a comfortable bed. He doubts the rebels get that much.

George leads him to a closed wooden door, peers inside, and turns back.

“I gotta tie you up again, sorry,” he says, pulling the rope back out and loosely securing Dream’s wrists. “Wilbur’ll be pissed if I don’t, just pretend I brought you straight here from medbay, or something.”

The tips of George’s ears are red. It’s cute. What the fuck, why is he thinking that, he should not be thinking that.

“Alright,” Dream agrees. He could be out of this knot in two seconds, probably halfway out the ravine in six, he’d be well on his way back to the castle in under a minute if he really tried. But honestly, at this rate, he’s intrigued. His interest in this ramshackle group has been piqued, and besides, the best way to know thy enemy is to infiltrate them from the inside.

George opens the door and leads him inside, where General Soot is hastily shoving papers into overflowing chests. There’s nothing incriminating on the walls, just general maps with random blue and yellow tacks in them. He wants to remark on the odd color choice but ends up keeping his mouth shut, a smart choice when Soot turns back. There’s anger in his eyes and blood dripping down his forehead. George snorts.

“Niki’s gonna be pissed you came here first,” he says. “I’ve got the prisoner.”

“Hello,” Dream says, raising both wrists to wave. Soot gives him a look that’s a mixture between disgust and vague disappointment.

“Is he healed?” the general asks gruffly. George nods and pats his back.

“Good as new.”

“Good. Get him out.”

“Out?” Dream asks, surprised.

“Out?” George echoes, sounding equally as surprised. “That’s the decision you landed on? No bartering, no ransom, nothing?”

“Do you really want to get in contact with the king?” Soot snorts. George flushes. “I didn’t think so. If we keep him here for much longer, they’ll send the pig, or Snapmap, or some shit, and I don’t really fancy anyone finding our base, difficult as it may be.”

“They have a mage, he’s probably got trackers on them,” George says, nodding in agreement.

“They have a mage?” Soot asks in disbelief, his tone changing abruptly. “Who in their right mind-”

“He was blackmailed into it,” Dream snaps, suddenly feeling very defensive. He’s been friends with Sam and Ant for a long time, of course he’s going to be defensive of them. “They work for the king in exchange for not being locked up.”

“I know them both, they were brought in shortly before I left,” George says, his voice a bit stiff. “Mage called Sam and his familiar, Antfrost. They’re skilled. They know we have a mage.”

“Fuck,” Soot mutters.

“Your mage is bad at covering his tracks,” Dream offers, and then immediately wants to take it back, because he probably shouldn’t have let them know that. Soot cracks a grin.

“I’ll be sure to let him know to start improving on that,” he drawls, somewhat sarcastically. “Or maybe I won’t even need to, if he’s outside the door!” He raises his voice on the last part, and Tommy pokes his head in with a scowl.

“We are not eavesdropping, big man Wilbur, we were just passing by,” he says. “How did you know we were there?”

“Lucky guess,” Soot replies. “Where’s- where’s Big Law?” He cuts himself off with a harsh look and a throat-cutting gesture from George. Tommy rolls his eyes.

“Obviously better at covering his tracks than you think, he’s standing behind you,” Tommy replies, and there’s a giggle from somewhere behind Soot. The general whirls around, and the wooden door closes with a bang, Tommy taking off.

Okay. The mage is definitely a kid, which he’ll have to keep in mind, but again, it seems like half of Pogtopia is kids so it really doesn’t narrow the pool down much.

“Okay,” George says, trying to get the conversation back on track. “So we take him back. How? I’m not gonna have you knock him out again-”

Okay, so Soot’s the one that knocked him out. Makes sense.

“I don’t care how you do it, I trust you,” Soot says. “Just get him out, and make sure he won’t be coming back. I’ve gotta talk to Niki before she blows a gasket.”

“Yeah, she’s gonna have a go at you for that one, you shouldn’t have gotten hurt,” George snorts. Dream tunes the rest of the conversation out, knowing that they’re not going to be revealing any important information while he’s in the room- they’ve caught themselves every time they’ve come close- and instead focuses on studying the maps in the room. There are yellow tacks on some locations, dark blue on others. He notices yellow on the village that he arrested George in, yellow on the Outskirts village they were raiding when he was captured, and figures the yellow indicates places they’ve hit. Some have yellow and blue, and he tries to commit every blue dot to memory, even though he has no idea what order these strikes will be in-

-and then he notices one light blue tack, a much lighter shade than the others, on the village of Munchi. It sticks out like a sore thumb, now that he’s looking at it, and his instincts are telling him that that’s the next hit. He purses his lips and doesn’t say anything about it, doesn’t give any indication that he’s realized, and by the time the two generals have pulled out of their banter he’s back to looking intently at the rope around his wrists.

“Alright,” George says. “Let’s go.”

He has no idea what’s happening, he totally wasn’t paying attention, but George is leading him up, so that’s a good sign. The higher they get, the more of a vantage point he has of all of Pogtopia- the ravine extends far, curving around in one direction and cutting off abruptly in the other. It’s bigger than he ever would have expected. George lets him marvel for a moment at the top of the staircase outside a large iron door, and when he turns back, the general is looking at him expectantly.

“What?” he asks.

“Were you not listening?” George asks, one eyebrow raised. He’s holding a strip of white cloth in one hand. “We’re blindfolding you and dropping you off somewhere.”

“Where?” he asks, cocky grin back in place. Not that George can see it, but based on the way he laughs, he gets the picture.

“Like I’d tell you,” he responds easily. “Come on, slip it on under your mask, I’ll turn around if you want-”

He does, just like that, without even waiting for Dream to respond. Dream wonders why he’s so surprised- the rebels he’s met (save maybe Soot) have all shown him nothing but kindness, or at least indifference. He can feel an argument sparking in his gut, whether he should expose everything about them or not, whether he should even be fighting against them or not, he could knock George out right here and take him back to the palace-

And instead of doing that, he shifts his mask to the side, ties the blindfold carefully around his eyes, and slips the mask back on. He clears his throat to let George know he’s good, and the man grabs his elbow carefully to lead him out. There’s the sound of the heavy iron door opening and closing, papers rustling, then the feeling of vines before he can feel the hot midday sun.

“How long was I out?” he thinks to ask.

“‘Bout a day. Wilbur hit you pretty hard. Here, climb up.”

“This is the almighty Dream?” an unfamiliar voice asks as he’s loaded onto what must be a wagon.

“Shut the hell up, he’s fucking terrifying,” a second unfamiliar voice snaps. They both sound young (big shocker), and George chuckles.

“Yeah, Jack, almighty Dream,” George says. Dream connects the name to the crime, can’t think of a face- Jack Manifold, known member of the rebellion, charming, good at conning pretty socialites out of their wallets, sometimes goes by Thunder.

“He’s shorter than you, Ranboo, you shouldn’t be scared of him,” Jack says. Ranboo, recent member, relatively no information on him except that he’s tall and keeps his face hidden.

“I am scared of him. I’m actually very scared of him-”

“Guys,” George snaps. “Shut it. Take him out that way, drop him off somewhere and come back. Don’t let him see what direction you go.”

“You’re not coming with?” Jack asks, sounding a bit surprised. Dream can practically hear George’s scowl.

“He’s not gonna try anything, and I have better things to do than babysit knights,” he says. “Our dear old supplier wants another meeting, Fundy and I have to deal with that. Dream- I’d say it was a pleasure, but I would be lying.”

“No, you wouldn’t. You love me.”

“You wish.”

“I’ll see you around, Georgie.”

“I- see you around, Dream. And don’t call me that.”

He smirks. The bickering comes easy, almost too easy. He stamps down those feelings, too, compartmentalizing them right next to the weird feeling he got when George grinned at him and the internal conflict about taking down the rebellion. The wagon George stuck him in starts moving, and he hears someone shift across from him. Alright, one person driving, one person sitting across from him, probably holding a sword on him in case he tries anything.

“Why’d George just let him go?” the one across from him- Jack- mutters. “You really think he’s not gonna try anything?”

“I’m right here,” Dream says. They both ignore him.

“I trust George’s judgement,” Ranboo says. “Instinct, y’know? I get it sometimes, like a little voice telling me to yeet myself out of a situation-”

“Ranboo, you’re literally, like, half-enderman, yeeting yourself out is what you do,” Jack retorts.

“You can what?” Dream says, turning toward the front of the wagon.

“Oh, good going, Jack,” Ranboo says sarcastically. “We only think I’m a hybrid, we don’t know-”

“Dude!” Jack cries, and the two of them devolve into an argument while Dream just kind of sits there, confused. They ride for nearly an hour, the two rebels switching topics faster than Dream can keep up with, and eventually they come to a stop, both physically and verbally.

“Alright, get out, keep the blindfold on for a good minute or two, you’re on the outskirts of the capital city,” Jack orders. “I’m sure you can find your way home from here.”

“Thank you,” Dream says. “For not killing me, or something.”

“Why would we kill you?” Jack asks. “Boss ordered us not to.”

“You could take us down easily,” Ranboo adds. There’s a sound like Jack hits him, and Dream holds back a chuckle. They direct him out of the wagon and he counts to sixty before pulling the blindfold off. The wagon is out of sight, and if he really tried he could probably tell what direction they went in, but he doesn’t really feel like trying. He’s tired, his head is still sore, and he can see the castle in the distance.

As he starts the long walk back, he thinks. The rebellion is a bunch of kids. A bunch of kids that are going to be hitting the village of Munchi next, probably within the next day or two, based on how often their strikes have been recently. He can have people stationed there, ready to take the rebels down-

Ready to take a bunch of kids down, a bunch of kids that are mostly magic users and that are probably all scared, that don’t want to be prosecuted by a cruel tyrant-

A cruel tyrant that’s his boss, that’s provided him with everything for years now, even when Dream was an insubordinate kid that was picking fights for fun. Dream has a duty to the crown and he’s damn well going to see it through, because he’s loyal, he’s the captain of the ender-damned guard for a reason-

And isn’t he supposed to be serving the people? Yeah, he serves the king, but the guard is meant to protect, and evidently he’s not doing a very good job of that if the rebels have the need for a cleric and a medbay and everyone he saw was covered in bandages and scars, they’re just trying to do what’s best for the people-

But he cares about his people, doesn’t he, he cares about Bad and Sapnap and all the rest of his friends, and Munchi is the village that Bad and Skeppy came from, he doesn’t want their loved ones getting hurt, does he? Anyone they might have known there? And-

And he’s back at the castle, the guards at the gate recognizing him quickly, shouting to let him in. They’re holding him outside because he’s refusing to take the mask off, and Sapnap runs and practically jumps into his arms and he grins.

“It’s him,” Sapnap says quickly. “It’s him, guys, don’t worry, let him in-”

He gets handshakes and pats on the backs from his friends, a curt nod from Techno, and a bit of yelling from the king.

“At least tell me you got information,” the king snarls. “If they’re stupid enough to hold you for a day and let you go, they have to be stupid enough to leave information laying around-”

They’re not stupid, Dream thinks, just kids. Bad is looking at him hopefully, and he swallows harshly.

“They’re planning on attacking Munchi next,” he says. “We need people stationed there as soon as possible, my team and I will go down tomorrow, I think that’s gonna be when they hit, likely around midday.”

“Excellent,” the king says with a sinister grin. “I leave you to it.”

Tubbo is, to say the very least, not particularly pleased with today’s change in events. It was a routine heist, everyone a bit more agitated than normal because of the whole Dream business. No knights came knocking on their door, so they figured they were safe and good to go ahead with the Munchi gig. Tubbo is on the sidelines, as per usual. He knows George and Wilbur have back-up plans upon back-up plans, and most of the back-up plans involve him.

Yeah, he’s a mage-in-training, but he’s still a mage. He’s powerful. Half the rebellion has magic, but they don’t have magic like him. It makes him feel useful, needed, and he knows that he’s important. He’s a mage! In training. He’s cool, he’s powerful, but he’s the back-up plan because he’s not exactly subtle. He’ll be able to get them out of any sticky situations, certainly, but it’s like Dream said. He’s not very good at hiding traces of his magic.

To be fair, he never had an actual teacher. Everyone just kind of does their best to teach him the bits of magic that they know, and he figures out the rest. His magic doesn’t just react like everyone else’s does, he doesn’t have any instincts telling him things, he just- figures it out. He doesn’t have a cool built-in alarm system like George does, which is probably how he ends up with a knife to his throat and a voice whispering in his ear.

“Come with us if you want to live,” the voice whispers. He’s frozen in place, seeing a knight out of the corner of his eye. He taps into the little reserve of magic in his chest, directs it toward the knight, tries to shape it to throw him off as best as he can. Then he remembers that he’s not supposed to be exposing himself as a mage, so he stomps on the knight’s foot at the same time that he lets his magic loose. The knight stumbles back, the knife leaving a nick on the side of Tubbo’s neck. He doesn’t pay attention to it and runs, the knight calling out behind him.

“Wilbur!” he shouts, spotting the familiar beanie across the town square. They’re both positioned out here as Fundy and Ranboo sneak in again, George and Tommy both inside the building. The general turns slightly, sees Tubbo, and his eyes widen. “Wilbur, get out of here, I’ll hold them off!” He manages to dive to the side as another knight lunges at him, trying to tackle him. Wilbur shouts the affirmative before sprinting into the bank.

“Stay back!” Tubbo yells, hands raised. The two knights are pacing back and forth in front of him, swords drawn, as if debating whether to strike or not. Tubbo draws his own sword and holds it out threateningly. If they’re doing things right, Wilbur should be directing them out the back door now.

“We’re not gonna hurt you, kid,” one of the knights says, the one that tried to tackle him. Tubbo thinks he’s called Sapnap. “Right, Punz? We’re not gonna hurt him?”

“Right,” the knight that held a knife to his throat agrees. Tubbo can feel the blood dripping down his neck. He rolls his eyes.

“Sure,” he says. “You’re just gonna arrest me, right?”

“Well, that’s the idea,” an eerily familiar voice says behind him, and he turns to see Dream, leaning against the wall. There’s another knight standing next to him, chains in hand. Tubbo swallows harshly. He’s not getting out of this without exposing himself as the mage, which he is under direct orders from Wilbur, George, and Niki to not do. If he keeps the knight’s attention, it’ll give the other rebels more time to get out.

Oh, Tommy’s gonna fucking kill him for this.

He turns and sprints, all four of the knights crying out and chasing after him. He doesn’t make it very far before Sapnap is tackling him, pinning his hands behind his back and pulling him up.

“Nice try, kid,” he says. “Come on.”

Which is how Tubbo finds himself arrested, for the first time. He doesn’t even think there are wanted posters of him out yet, something that Tommy brags about (“At least they don’t know what my face looks like, Tommy.” “You’ll never get any women like that, Tubbo, I have so many girlfriends because they all see my face and fall in love with me-”). The only bright side is that he’s the only one in the wagon, meaning no other rebels captured, though there are two guards lounging across from him. They’re just talking to each other, and it’s boring, almost. He was at least hoping that being arrested would be exciting.

“Why’d you arrest me?” he asks suddenly. The two- Dream and he thinks the other is called Ponk- both turn and look at him. “Wilbur was right there, he’s much more important.”

Ponk looks toward the drivers of the wagon. Dream’s ears get a little red.

“We figured they wouldn’t hurt a kid,” Dream admits eventually. “We need bartering, and we figured we could barter with you.” He’s not lying, but he’s not necessarily telling the truth, either. Tubbo recognizes the tone of voice well. He drops it. Shortly after, they come to a stop, and Tubbo sighs.

“We’re here,” Dream says gruffly. “Come on, kid.”

“Oh, the palace,” he says, almost brightly. Then he realizes that this is very not good, especially if the king really has a mage working for him. “Oh, the palace,” he repeats, with much less enthusiasm. Dream makes a wheezing noise that Tubbo thinks is laughter as he shoves him forward.

He’s brought to the throne room, and he studies the artwork on the wall with interest. He’s kind of dreading being brought here, mostly because he knows Techno isn’t going to be very happy. There are a lot more people in the room than he was expecting, all of them watching him. He picks Techno out instantly, and he’s a bit surprised when the second person he notices isn’t the king or the queen, but a man standing off to the side, with a cat sitting at his feet.

That’s not a normal man. That’s not a cat. That’s a mage and his familiar, and he very obviously recognizes the same of Tubbo almost immediately. The man freezes. “That’s the mage,” he says immediately. “That’s the fucking mage, someone get the bracelets on him- Ant!”

The room devolves into chaos. If his cover’s blown, he might as well try getting away, pulling up his magic and preparing to teleport, but then someone slaps something on his wrists and he instantly loses all connection to his magic. It feels like something is missing, something is gone- he can feel the panic in his chest rising and he makes eye contact with the man that slapped the handcuffs on his wrist, the mage’s familiar.

“What is that?” he demands. “What did you do to me, what-”

“Kid, calm down,” the familiar says, blue eyes wide. He’s muttering, he clearly doesn’t want anyone else in the room to hear as they recover from the brief shock. “It’s just blocking your magic, I promise it’ll be okay, it’s not gonna hurt you in any way.”

With that, the familiar is pulling back, going to the mage’s side. The king is standing, striding toward him. Tubbo can see the rest of the knights around the room, Dream still behind him. Techno is off in a corner, his face blank but his eyes trying to reassure him that it’s gonna be okay. He knows it will, logically, Tommy and Wilbur will come and they’ll get these apparently anti-magic bracelets off him somehow, and everything will be fine.

“This is the mage?” the king snorts. “You’re sure, Sam? This is a child.”

“He’s definitely the mage,” the royal mage, Sam, says in the corner. He’s got his mask to one side now, eyes locked on Tubbo, and he can see a hundred different emotions buried there. He wants to talk to this mage, and maybe yell at him a little bit, but he knows now isn’t the time.

“I’m the mage,” he admits, swallowing harshly. The king breaks into a grin.

“Perfect,” he says. “Even more of a bartering chip. Bad, start preparing a statement to send to the rebels, to let them know what we have in custody. Dream, take him to the cells, keep him away from any other magic-using criminals we’ve got locked up down there. Everyone else, back to work.”

“I’m sorry about this,” Dream mutters as soon as they’re out of the throne room. “I didn’t know you were the mage. You’re Tommy’s friend, yeah?”

He doesn’t answer. He tries prying the bracelets off, and winces when they send a little zap into his skin. Dream makes a noise that sounds like a sigh as he locks Tubbo in a cell, different from the one that the other rebels were in when he rescued them only four days ago. Ender, it feels like weeks, not days.

Dream is still staring at him even as he steps back from the cell, and shit, that mask is actually kind of creepy.

“Tommy’s gonna fucking kill you,” Tubbo mutters, but there isn’t any bite behind it. Dream scoffs and turns away, leaving him completely alone.

He sighs and turns to the window, trying to feel any sort of magic, but there’s nothing. How a mage could even do something like this, he has no idea, this Sam guy must have some serious training. He lets himself kick at the bars for a moment before giving up and sitting down, resigning himself to a very long few days before his friends come to get him out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments/kudos/etc make my brain go brrrrr


	4. Mvmt II, Part 2: Hope Weighs Heavy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bad makes a decision. Tubbo has a conversation. Several arguments occur. Like, seriously, there are a lot of arguments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for this chapter: brief description of a panic attack (about one paragraph long) starting with "'What is going on?' Tubbo says quietly." please take care of yourselves!!!

“Go!” Wilbur hisses. “Go, go, go, we gotta get out, out the back!”

“What?” George hisses back. He’s stationed inside the building, like normal, keeping an eye on things. Tommy is across the hall doing the same. When the kid sees his brother rush in, he hurries over. The frantic look on Wilbur’s face speaks volumes- so this is why his magic feels like it’s on high alert. He knew something had gone bad.

“What’s wrong, big man?” Tommy asks. “Where’s Tubbo?”

“Out the back,” Wilbur repeats, shoving them both along. People are giving them odd looks now. “Get Fundy and Ranboo and go, I’ll be right behind you.”

“Sir, you can’t be back here-” one of the bank tellers starts, and Wilbur shoves George and Tommy behind the counter. He climbs up onto it, ignoring the bank teller’s protests, and draws his sword.

“This is a robbery!” he yells. “Everyone get down on the ground!”

He gives George and Tommy a look. George grabs Tommy’s wrist and drags him back. They studied the blueprints before coming here, he knows where he’s going. Tommy struggles at first, but his protests die out as they get deeper into the building.

“Holy shit,” he blurts out when they reach Ranboo and Fundy, who are busy loading golden coins from a large safe into their sacks. “That’s a lot of money. I could buy so many drugs with that.”

“Shut up, you’re a literal child,” George says, rolling his eyes. “Are the guards all taken care of?”

Ranboo points down the hall, where there’s a small stack of unconscious bodies. George nods.

“What’s going on?” Fundy asks. “Do I need to go make a scene again?”

“No,” George says. “Wilbur just shoved us down here and told us to get out, he’s causing the scene today. We’ve got the wagon around back?” Ranboo nods the affirmative. “Great. Finish loading up, we’ve gotta go.”

He waits until Fundy and Tommy are out the door, bags slung over their shoulders, and turns to Ranboo. The rebel is looking at him nervously.

“Can you get Wilbur out?” he asks.

“Uh,” Ranboo says.

“Well, you have to.” He puts that look on his face that all of the rebels know means not to argue with him. Ranboo swallows harshly. “I’ve got the bags. Meet us at the wagon.”

Ranboo steels his gaze and nods before turning and marching swiftly in the direction of Wilbur. George can hear the commotion even from here, and he grabs the rest of the bags and runs before it can reach him. He makes it to their pre-picked spot quickly, where Purpled and a few others are waiting anxiously. Tommy and Fundy both have their swords drawn. Fundy’s ears are pulled back, a clear sign that he’s nervous. Tommy is scowling.

George throws his bags into the wagon and turns back, waiting for Ranboo and Wilbur. They’re both insanely tall (too tall for their own good, in his opinion), so it’s easy to spot them crashing through the trees.

“Let’s go, I think we’ve got a good lead on them-” Wilbur huffs, nearly doubling over. Ranboo launches himself into the wagon and Jack, who was stationed outside just in case, comes racing toward them.

“We gotta go!” he yells, gesturing for everyone to climb in. “Seriously, they’re right behind me-”

“Where’s Tubbo?” Tommy demands. Both Wilbur and Jack look at each other, then back at him. George feels his gut drop. His magic spikes again, high in his chest, and he can hear guards coming toward them. He, Tommy, and Wilbur are the only ones not in the wagon now, Tommy standing in front of it with his sword drawn. “Where’s Tubbo?” Tommy repeats.

“Guys-” Purpled starts, standing on the front of the wagon nervously.

“They grabbed him, Tommy, he told me to run,” Wilbur says, and fuck, that is really, really not good.

“They what?!” Tommy practically screams. His stance is unwavering; his grip on the sword tightens.

“Tommy, get in the wagon, it’s too late now-” Wilbur pleads.

“Guys-” Purpled says again, a bit louder and a bit more frantic now.

“You left him there?” Tommy yells.

“GUYS!” Purpled screams. George turns and his magic surges, lashing out, sending the three guards that were almost upon them flying back. Two hit the ground hard; the third hits the trunk of a tree with a sickening crack. He winces, but it was necessary, and he can see more coming behind them.

“Get on the wagon,” he says, turning back to Wilbur and Tommy. Tommy looks like he’s about to argue, but Wilbur doesn’t give him the chance. Without hesitation, he lunges forward and tackles his younger brother mid-air, sending them both flying to the wagon floor. George leaps on behind them and Purpled hits the reins, sending them off.

George can feel his magic swirling around inside him, waiting to strike if anyone gets too close again. Tommy’s magic, based purely in destruction and chaos, that normally only comes out when he’s fighting, is cracking the wood of the bottom of the wagon. Wilbur is singing, his words blurring together, trying to get the kid to calm down before he destroys their one way out.

“Just make him sleep!” Fundy yells, frantically trying to keep loose coins from spilling out of a new, rather large hole in the base of the wagon. Wilbur obliges, directing his words only at Tommy, but George can feel himself drooping as well. By the time it wears off, Tommy is out cold, and the rest of the rebels are shaking their heads as if to clear the aftereffects of Wilbur’s song.

“Sorry,” Wilbur says. “Had to be done.”

“What happened?” George asks.

“Punz and Sapnap cornered Tubbo. He told me to run. I don’t know what happened, but I think Dream and Ponk were there too. They were expecting us, but I don’t think they knew Tubbo was the mage.”

“They definitely didn’t,” Jack adds. “I was watching, they- all four of them were on him. Dream and Ponk could’ve easily gotten you, Wilbur, I couldn’t get there in time, and- they didn’t. They all went after him.”

“He’s a bartering chip,” George realizes. “He’s young and he’s important. Dream probably recognized his voice.”

“His voice?” Wilbur questions, and then his eyes widen. “The prank. In my office.”

“Actions have consequences,” George agrees solemnly, and the cart falls quiet.

“Fuck,” Wilbur mutters after a moment, taking off his beanie and running a hand through his hair. “This is not good.”

That’s probably an understatement. Despite the heavy financial gain, the emotional loss has taken its toll by the time they get back to base. They bring the stolen gold to one of the supply rooms quickly, Fundy in charge of the distribution, and Wilbur and George make their way to the medbay, Wilbur with a still-sleeping Tommy slung over one shoulder.

“What happened?” Niki asks instantly as they make their way inside. She frowns as Wilbur sets Tommy down on one of the beds. She looks around, as if expecting Tubbo to enter after them- of course, Tubbo would never leave Tommy’s side, especially if he was injured. She seems to realize it almost immediately, looking at Wilbur accusingly. “Where’s Tubbo?”

“Niki-” he starts.

“Where’s. Tubbo,” she interrupts.

“They got him,” George says, swallowing harshly. “Four of the palace’s best knights, all on him at once.”

Niki looks between the two generals for a moment, nostrils flaring. She spins on her heel and disappears down one of the hallways, the one that leads to their medbay supply room. There’s the sound of glass crashing against a stone wall, followed by several loud curses.

“Alright,” she says, marching back out to them. “What are we going to do about it?”

“You’re going to fucking what?” Tubbo snaps, eyes wide in fear. Techno sighs. He really doesn’t want to be doing this, but it’s not like he has a choice. Besides, he’d rather be the one doing it than anyone else, because at least he knows he won’t hurt the kid too bad. The rest of these knight fucks would probably love to get their hands on a rebel, especially a mage.

“Interrogate you,” Techno tells the kid, voice as monotone as ever. They’re in the throne room, the king sitting on his chair, the queen nowhere to be seen. She had no interest in watching Techno beat up a child for a bit. He was talking to the king earlier; the king’s given it five hits before the kid breaks. Techno knows better.

“For information?” Tubbo asks.

“Yes.” Shouldn’t that be obvious?

“I’m a kid. I don’t know anything.”

“You’re the Rebellion’s mage,” the king sneers. “You’re powerful. You know things. At the very least, you know where your little friends are.”

Tubbo is looking at Techno with pleading eyes. Techno is on the Rebellion’s side, yeah, but he’s not about to lose his position as a spy. He’ll be arrested, if not worse, and the only guaranteed chance at a break-out has been forced onto his knees in front of him.

“I’m sorry, Tubbo,” he mutters quietly, so that the king doesn’t hear. “I’ll try and make this as painless as possible.”

Tubbo is sure that Techno tries his best, but the guy really underestimates his strength. Literally everything hurts, and he can’t even heal himself, the stupid magic-restricting bracelets still locked firmly around his wrists. Not like he’d know how to do that in the first place; Niki’s tried her best, but he’s shit at healing.

Techno is half-dragging, half-carrying him down to the cells after nearly an hour of ‘interrogation’ or whatever the hell the king called it. It’s a load of bollocks either way. Tubbo’s no fucking snitch, and he’s certainly not going to betray his friends. And yeah, Techno was probably a hell of a lot nicer than any other knights would’ve been, but being hit a bunch of times still hurt.

“I’m sorry,” Techno mutters again as he deposits Tubbo carefully onto the ground of his cell. “I’ll try and see if the royal mage can come down here and have a look at you, but it’s supposta be gettin’ busy soon. Some cousin of the king or somethin’ comin’ to visit, next in line for the throne after the lost prince.”

Tubbo doesn’t care. He doesn’t even know why Techno is telling him this, because Techno is the spy, not him, he’s just a prisoner now. But oh, Techno is giving him a look, okay, this is important information. He nods quickly and then winces, the sudden movement hurting pretty much every part of his body, and Techno locks the cell and leaves.

He hopes that this whole thing doesn’t happen again, that they’ll leave him to rot in this cell in peace. He hopes, he hopes, he hopes, and he doubts that his hopes will ever come true.

“What the fuck do you mean, you interrogated the kid?” Sapnap demands. Techno, lounging in the armory, shrugs.

“King David told me to interrogate the kid,” the knight says. “I interrogated the kid.”

“You beat the kid up?” Dream asks. Techno shrugs again. He’s sitting on one of the benches, clearly hiding from his responsibilities. Dream can’t blame him. He and Sapnap came down to see if they could get some practice swords for sparring, nothing to do after the last mission while waiting for someone to write up a statement about the captured mage to send to the Rebellion. Techno looks bored. Sapnap looks furious. Dream senses a blow-out.

“I would hardly call it a beatin’,” Techno drawls. “He’s a kid. I went easy on him.”

“You still beat up a kid,” Sapnap snarls. “Why the fuck would you do that? How old is he, fifteen?”

“Sixteen,” Techno corrects immediately, then catches himself. Dream notices the slip, the brief panic in the other knight’s eyes, but he doesn’t question it. Sapnap doesn’t notice, practically fuming.

“That’s a fucking kid,” Sapnap says. “What the fu-”

“Sap,” Dream interrupts. “He’s still a member of the Rebellion. We’re doing whatever we can to take them down, remember?”

“‘Whatever we can,’” Sapnap scoffs. “Listen to yourself, Dream. Since when do we beat up kids?”

“I’m just followin’ orders,” Techno says defensively. “If you’ve got a problem, take it up with the king.”

“Maybe I will,” Sapnap says, turning on Techno. “Maybe I will go take it up with the king, since neither of you seem to have a problem with beating up a kid for information he probably doesn’t have-”

“If he doesn’t have it, he woulda said so,” Techno says, still clearly on the defensive. He’s sitting up now, on guard, and Dream can feel the tension in the air. “He kept silent the whole time. That means he has somethin’ to hide.” With that, Techno takes off, with the most emotion Dream has ever seen on his face. Sapnap turns on Dream.

“What?” Dream asks. “Don’t give me that look.”

“I’m just saying-” Sapnap starts, and then he lowers his voice. “I’m just saying. I’ve been thinking. And I don’t think this shit is how we go about handling it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Kidnapping a kid and holding him as ransom? They kidnapped you and they let you go less than twenty-four hours later, Dream, with not a scratch on you. You looked like they fucking healed you, of all things. And we respond by kidnapping a sixteen-year-old kid and torturing him and bartering with his life?”

“We’re doing everything we can to take the Rebellion down,” Dream says through gritted teeth. “If that means we capture a kid, then we capture a kid. We’re not gonna actually hurt him, but if we threaten it they’ll agree to our demands.”

“That’s fucking barbaric, Dream, you understand that, right? I mean, I’m all for committing war crimes, you know how I am, but this?”

“Sapnap, we’re just doing our jobs-”

“And maybe there’s a problem that this is what our job is,” Sapnap finishes with a snarl. “Think about it, Dream. They’re just trying to live.”

“Why are you defending them so much all of a sudden?”

They’re both fuming now, this is the first good argument that they’ve had in a very long time. It’s probably the first real argument they’ve had about something that matters. Dream’s been having enough of an internal conflict about all of this, he doesn’t need his best friend adding onto it.

“I don’t know, Dream,” Sapnap says with a huffed laugh. “Maybe because-” he drops his voice even lower, just to be sure no one can hear, and Dream knows what’s coming before it does. “Maybe because I think the prince would be a better leader than the king.”

With that, Sapnap turns and grabs two of the practice swords, what they came here for in the first place. He offers one to Dream.

“Come on,” he says. “Let’s go beat the shit out of each other. I know you want to.”

Dream hesitates for a moment, and then he takes the sword.

A Notice Posted by the King of Manberg

To The Leaders of Those Calling Themselves ‘the Pogtopia Rebellion’:

We do not know where to find you, so we are posting this in every village possible. We have in our position an asset that is extremely valuable to you. It will please you to know that he has not yet given up your location, and we doubt he will do so.

Unfortunately, he gives us great power over you. If you want your mage to ever see the light of day again, you will send General Not Found and General Soot to the palace to meet with us, in peace, to negotiate the terms of your mage’s release. In addition to this, all funds stolen from the village of Munchi will be returned. These will both be done within a fortnight.

Do not doubt us. We will continue trying to get any information possible out of the mage. If you do not heed our demands, he will suffer greatly.

Signed, yours most sincerely,

King David II

“This,” Sam growls, staring at the letter that Bad just set on Skeppy’s desk. “This is some fucked up shit.”

Bad knows. He knows, ender damn it, he knows that this is messed up. He’s the one that wrote the letter. He doesn’t even bother snapping at Sam for his language, because this is not good. It is very, very, very not good.

Skeppy and Ant are both looking at him, waiting for the language bit. He just sighs and pulls a chair up next to Skeppy.

“I know that face,” Skeppy mutters, quietly. Bad grumbles something unintelligible out and leans his head on Skeppy’s shoulder. He can see Sam and Ant exchange a look out of the corner of his eyes. “You’re thinking of something, Bad. What is it?”

“It’s just-” he starts, and then he stops. The door to Skeppy’s office is closed. Logically, he knows no one will hear them. “Sam?” he asks anyways. Sam nods and holds out his hands. There’s a moment where nothing happens, and then they can feel a hum settle around the confines of the room.

“Good,” Sam says, his eyes glowing a gentle dark green. “No one outside the room can hear us.” He perches on the edge of a table, Ant sitting next to him.

“Okay,” Bad says. He also knows, logically, that if anyone will be on board with his plan, it’s these three. Sam and Ant because they’re magic users, Skeppy because he’s his best friend. Even if they don’t go along with him, they won’t tell anyone else. “I was thinking- well. I know you guys aren’t. Completely fond of the king.”

Sam snorts. “You can say that again,” Ant mutters.

“Bad, where is this going?” Skeppy asks.

“I don’t like the king either,” he admits, out loud for the first time. The magic-users look surprised. Skeppy doesn’t. “But I also don’t like the Rebellion. Both sides are too violent, and I don’t think either side will be very good in power. I think- honestly, I know George, or at least, I used to know him. I think he would be a better leader than the king. But I don’t want to throw my lot in behind Pogtopia, especially if they continue on a path of violence and thievery.”

“What are you saying, then?” Sam asks.

“We start a- a- a coalition,” Bad settles on. “Yeah. A coalition. That if it comes down to it, we’re against the king, but for now, for the sake of our livelihoods, we stay here.”

“A coalition,” Sam says with a nod. “I like it. And I’m in.”

“Oh, you’re not even going to discuss with me?” Ant snorts. “Yeah, I’m in, too.”

“I’m in, of course,” Skeppy says with a nod, looking at Bad with a soft smile. Simp, Bad thinks, and then he curses those stupid muffins for rubbing off on him. “What are we going to call ourselves?”

“What?” Bad asks. He definitely didn’t think that far ahead.

“Oh, we have to have a cool name,” Ant agrees. “The Bad Coalition? Since you came up with the idea. And you’re easily the leader.”

“Wow,” Sam and Skeppy snort at the same time.

“It’s true!” Ant protests.

“The Bad Coalition sounds like we’re bad,” Skeppy counters. “And I don’t think we’re bad.”

“Well, I hope not,” Bad says. “We could be the… the Badlands Coalition.”

“The Badlands Coalition,” Sam repeats. “I like it.”

“It’s settled, then,” Skeppy says, clapping his hands together. “From this day forth- Bad, Skeppy, Sam, and Antfrost. The Badlands Coalition.”

Bad grins. “My first act, as leader of the Badlands,” he says, and the three all start protesting. “You elected me leader, you muffin heads! I get to make important decisions!”

“Let him talk, let him talk!” Skeppy shouts over the magic-users. “What’s your first act, Bad?”

“Declaring the royal artificer’s office our official meeting place,” Bad says firmly. “And my second act, is ordering Sam and Ant of the Badlands to check on the mage from the Rebellion.”

“Check on the mage?” Sam asks. “Why?”

“I- the king interrogated him earlier. I think Techno beat him up a little bit. I just want to make sure he’s okay, you know?”

Sam nods, the smiles of the group fading. “Yeah, Bad, we’ll check on him. Promise.” His eyes stop glowing and the spell fades from around them. The soft hum dissipates and Ant shifts down into his cat form.

“Back to work, then,” Bad says with a sigh.

Wilbur knew he was going to regret letting Tommy go out. He made his little brother swear on their father that he wouldn’t go storming into the castle trying to break Tubbo out. “It’ll just get Tubbo more hurt,” he had said, and he knew it was probably a lie. The king would be thrilled to have more rebels imprisoned. But it seemed to have convinced Tommy to not go seeking out trouble, and the kid promised he’d stick close to Ranboo’s side as they went into town to get supplies from sympathizers of their cause.

And the ravine had been (more or less) quiet, for the last half an hour. Wilbur’s actually been able to catch a break, George promising to handle any Important General Business, and he’s been taking a nap in the medbay. Niki told him he was welcome to stay as long as every bed didn’t suddenly fill up, so he’s taken it to heart and he’s not leaving until Tommy comes back and starts stirring up a racket.

Which is now, apparently, he’s leaving now. He can hear his little brother screaming for him, starting far away and getting louder by the second. Niki gives him as sympathetic a look as she can muster (she’s still mad about Tubbo, and he doesn’t blame her). To his slight surprise, Tommy isn’t waiting by his office, he and Ranboo are both barreling toward the medbay, George in tow.

“Oh, ender,” Niki mutters under her breath. “Who’s hurt?” she calls.

“No one’s hurt!” Tommy yells, and he looks pissed beyond all hell.

“Well- I mean- we’re both hurt,” Ranboo corrects him. Niki ushers them inside, and George worriedly goes to Wilbur’s side. Tommy’s got a piece of paper clutched tightly in his grip that the other general is staring at.

“This isn’t going to be good,” George mutters.

Niki refuses to let Tommy speak until she’s healed both the cut on his cheek and the gash on Ranboo’s arm. Ranboo explains quickly that guards stationed in town nearly caught them as they were going for the paper.

“What does the paper say, Tommy?” George asks, clearly not wanting to beat around the bush. Wilbur almost doesn’t want to hear it.

Tommy reads the paper- the king’s demands for Tubbo’s release. By the end, Wilbur is very tempted to grab the nearest object and throw it against the wall. Niki is fuming. George sits down on the bed behind him and puts his head in his hands.

“The money’s already gone,” George says numbly.

“Right,” Wilbur says. “And I’m not meeting with the king.”

“Right,” George agrees. The others, as much as they care about Tubbo, know that this is the decision of the generals, and they’re silent. Wilbur almost doesn’t want them to be. He wants Niki and Tommy to be protesting his every word, Ranboo quietly objecting. Instead, they’re all staring at him, looking impossibly tired.

“Let’s start planning a break out,” Wilbur says. The look on Tommy’s face makes the weight of the situation almost worth it.

Tubbo doesn’t know how long he’s been here. A day, maybe? Techno’s come by once more, saying he was supposed to be interrogating him, but they just chatted for half an hour and then Techno left. Everything is still sore. There are still bruises all over his body. He’s glad it was Techno, honestly, because if it was anyone else, Tommy would murder them. Tommy still might murder Techno, it’s a toss-up, really.

He’s gotten bored of sitting in one corner, so he’s pacing back and forth. One of his ankles feels a little swollen, but he chooses to ignore it. There are footsteps coming from down the hall, multiple pairs, and half of him wants to dive back into a corner and hide. The other half tells him to stay where he is, so he leans against the bars, trying to play it cool. He feels like his heart is going to hammer outside of his chest.

He doesn’t recognize either of the two people that approach. One of them is tall, important-looking, his suit impeccable and his hair perfectly brushed. He has two large horns curved around the sides of his head, almost like a ram. A hybrid, then. There’s a much smaller man walking next to him, also in a suit, but with a beanie pulled low over his ears. They both stop in front of Tubbo’s cell.

“Hey, kid,” the hybrid says loudly. “Heard old Dreamy boy caught the Rebellion’s mage. Didn’t think it’d be a literal child.”

“What’s it to you?” Tubbo snarls defensively.

“No, no, I’m impressed,” he says, hands raised in mock surrender. “You’ve gotta be pretty powerful for some of the stuff you’ve done.”

Tubbo calls bullshit, he knows when adults are trying to get him on their side. But part of him can’t help but appreciate the praise. He lets himself smile a bit.

“Thank you,” he says with a nod. “Who are you, if you don’t mind me asking?”

The hybrid laughs and elbows his companion. “Who am I, the kid says. Can you believe this guy?”

“No, I can’t,” the shorter man says, his smile forced. He’s looking at Tubbo curiously. Tubbo tries to shake it off.

The ram hybrid turns back to him and cuts his laugh off abruptly. “J. Schlatt,” he introduces, holding a hand out to Tubbo. He reaches through the bars to shake it. “Duke of Manberg and next in line for the throne, after my dear cousin Georgie, of course.”

Schlatt’s name isn’t familiar; Tubbo would think that future king would be paraded around. But then again, he supposes the king didn’t know that George was leading the Rebellion until a week ago.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. J. Schlatt,” Tubbo says politely. “I’m Tubbo.”

“Just Tubbo?” Schlatt asks. Tubbo nods. He’s under strict orders to not tell people his real name and to not let people know he’s a mage. He’s already broken one of those orders; he’s not going to break the other. “Well, just Tubbo, this here is Quackity, my right hand man.”

“Hi,” Quackity says, a bit awkward.

“So, why are you down here?” Tubbo questions after a long pause. “Talking to prisoners, I mean.”

“Well, I just wanted to see what was up,” Schlatt says. His grin is almost predatory, and something is telling Tubbo to stay far, far away. “What’s with the cool golden bracelets?”

“Anti-magic, or something,” Tubbo scoffs. He doesn’t miss the way Quackity looks at them with horror. And since he’s not exactly in a position of power here, he points it out. “What? Do you support magic users?”

“You could say that,” Quackity says, his face red. Schlatt laughs and pats him on the back.

“Quackity here-” he starts, and then he’s cut off by two more people sprinting down the hallway. Ender, Tubbo has never had so many visitors at once. He recognizes the royal mage, Sam, by the green-and-black mask covering the top half of his face. The cat hybrid at his side is his familiar, Ant, Tubbo remembers. Right now, they’re both staring at Quackity and Schlatt.

“What the hell?” Sam hisses, grabbing Quackity’s shoulders. Schlatt laughs, a booming noise that makes Tubbo wince. “Why are there so many fucking mages in this fucking palace right now?”

“Language,” Ant hisses. Sam looks positively murderous.

“Quackity here is a mage,” Schlatt finishes, his grin even wider than before.

“Shut up, dude!” Quackity protests.

“You’re literally here all the time and you haven’t been noticed, stop pushing your luck by visiting the known magic users!” Sam cries, keeping his voice a whisper. Quackity and Schlatt both start talking at the same time, and then Ant and Sam join in, and ender, this is really not good for him, because he’s already very stressed and this is just not helping.

“What is going on?” Tubbo says quietly, mostly to himself. He feels- he honestly feels like he’s about to have a panic attack, because there are so many people he doesn’t know and apparently three of them are magic users but he can’t feel his magic at all, it’s been there his whole life and now it’s gone, and his breathing is picking up and fuck he can’t do this right now he can’t breathe there’s something pushing down on his chest and he-

-and he can feel the hard ground beneath him and something soft in his grasp. It takes him a moment to realize that he’s sitting down and there’s a cat in his arms, rubbing up against his chest and purring. He looks up to see Schlatt standing back and Sam standing forward, crouching next to him on the other side of the bars. Quackity is hovering in the middle, unsure. Ant is nowhere to be seen.

Oh, right. Cat.

“Thank you,” he whispers, patting the cat on the head and quickly wiping the tears from his eyes. He looks up at Sam. “Why?” he asks. The other mage understands instantly, eyes flickering to the bracelets.

“I’m sorry, kid,” Sam says. “I didn’t have a choice.”

“You did,” Quackity mutters. “You always have a choice.”

“Let me get this straight,” Tubbo says, taking a few deep, shuddering breaths. “Quackity, you- you’re also a mage?”

“That’s right,” Quackity says calmly. “I- I protect Schlatt, and he protects me.”

“What do you need protecting from?” Tubbo asks, directing his question toward Schlatt. He’s absentmindedly petting Ant now. He doesn’t have a familiar, most mages don’t, but the cat’s purring is calming him down way more than any normal cat could.

“Well, that’s the thing,” Schlatt says, his voice still loud. Quackity and Sam both gesture for him to be quiet, and he drops his volume a bit, but his grin doesn’t move. “I don’t actually like the king. And I don’t really like George, either. And if I get them both out of the way…” He trails off, like Tubbo should know where this is going.

“You want the throne,” Tubbo says.

“Bingo! And Quackity keeps me safe from people that don’t want me to have it. I put on a bit of a persona, y’know, king’s little lapdog. But I don’t have any problems with magic users and I think there are way better ways to go about taxing people than what the king’s doing. And to be frank, I don’t trust Prince Georgie’s abilities to lead a kingdom in the slightest. So here we are.”

“Here you are,” Tubbo echoes. He looks up at Quackity.

“What do you want me to say?” Quackity asks, sounding positively miserable. “I protect Schlatt or I get imprisoned.”

“Come on, Quackity!” Schlatt protests. “We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“Sure,” Quackity snorts, but he sounds at least a little genuine. “We’re friends, Schlatt.”

Sam looks back and forth between the two for a moment before turning back to Tubbo. “I’d take the bracelets off if I could, kid. But if you get away, that’s on my ass, and I’m not gonna do that to Ant.”

Hm. Tubbo looks down at the cat that has now curled up in his lap. The bond between mage and familiar is sacred; Tubbo could relate it to the bond he has with Tommy. He’d do anything to keep Tommy safe. So alright, he supposes, that’s fair. He’s not gonna like it, but it’s fair.

Besides, he probably won’t be here for much longer, anyways.

“Well, I’ve gotta go,” Schlatt announces. “I just wanted to stop by and see Pogtopia’s famed mage. Nice meeting you, Tubbster.”

“You, too,” Tubbo says weakly. He tries to offer a smile to Quackity. The other mage smiles back sadly, following Schlatt out of the dungeons. There’s a moment of silence where Tubbo watches them go before he turns back to Sam. “How’d you get here?”

“What?” Sam asks, looking taken aback. He shifts his mask to the side so they can make eye contact.

“I mean-” Tubbo starts, then stops. He can feel himself flushing a little bit, and he tries to stamp it down. “How were you able to make something like these?” He holds up his wrists, bracelets gleaming. “I can barely control my magic, let alone do something like this.”

“You haven’t been trained, have you?” Sam asks, realization dawning on his face. Tubbo shakes his head, focusing on Ant. “That’s why you can’t hide your magic for shit.”

He laughs; he appreciates the effort to make him feel better. Even if it was sort-of an insult.

“My fr- the other rebels with magic, I mean, they try to teach me what they can do. We have-” He pauses for a moment, and then decides he can trust Sam. What magic user would really be on the side of the king? “We have a lot of magic users, y’know? But I’m the only actual mage that does more than just one thing. And they try their best to teach me, but…” He shrugs. Sam’s got a look of almost pity, and oh, he doesn’t like that. Ant must see it, because he meows. Sam shakes his head quickly.

“I’m sorry, kid,” he says, and he shifts his mask back down. “You’re okay? You don’t need healing?” There’s an abrupt shift in his tone, and Tubbo wonders if someone is coming. He can’t see anyone, but Ant hops off his lap and slips back through the bars of the cell. Something in his chest hardens.

“I’m okay,” he says. The bruises prove that he’s loyal to the Rebellion. He’s not going to let a magic-user working for the king take that from him.

“Okay,” Sam says, scooping up the familiar. “I’ll see you around, Tubbo.”

With that, he’s gone, and Tubbo is alone again.

Dream spends the next few days waging an internal war. Sapnap doesn’t bring up the whole Rebellion thing again. Whenever he sees Technoblade heading toward the dungeons, Dream drags the other knight in the opposite direction. Sapnap definitely catches on, but he doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t have to, because the two halves of Dream’s brain are at war again anyways.

It’s four days after Pogtopia’s mage’s capture (he still refuses to tell them his name; Sam seems to know, but he isn’t saying anything) when one side finally wins the war. And so, without telling anyone where he’s going, and without really knowing where he’s going himself, he tells Bad that he’s taking a personal day. Bad lets him go with only an odd look, but it’s not like Dream doing weird things is out of the ordinary, and Dream will be the first to admit it.

Dream isn’t the Captain of the Guard for nothing. He’s an excellent hunter, an excellent tracker, and really fucking good at knowing the environment. Which is why, once he reaches the edge of the capital city where the rebels dropped him off, he’s able to track the movements back toward their base. His methods aren’t an exact science, sure, and they only really get him a rough estimate, but they lead him to a large clearing in a forest that’s surrounding the village where he first encountered George.

Is encountered the right word? Found. Arrested. Attacked. Yeah, encountered is an okay word for it.

Well, he’s in the forest. He’s extremely recognizable. He could just make noise until he gets someone’s attention, right? There’s no way that could go wrong, he thinks to himself with a scoff.

He spots movement in the trees ahead of him and freezes. There’s nothing there, not that he can see, probably just a bird or a squirrel that caught his attention.

Yeah, right.

There’s a moment of silence. Dream remains frozen in place, anticipating, waiting for the cool bite of metal at his neck. It comes within the minute, and he’s ducking under it and flinging the blade’s wielder over his shoulder with barely any effort. He points his own blade at the rebel’s throat, their sword pinned under his boot.

“That was sloppy,” he remarks. The rebel- ender, it’s another fucking kid- narrows his eyes. Dream has to scrape the back of his mind to put a name to the face, he doesn’t think the kid has been on many wanted posters, but he thinks he’s called Purpled. Weird name, but Dream hangs out with people called Technoblade and Sapnap, so he guess he can’t really judge.

“I’m so sorry,” the kid drawls. He freezes, eyes widening, as if he’s realizing who he’s talking to. “I’m so sorry,” he repeats, his tone more panicked. “Um- please let me live? I’m just a messenger, really, I was on my way back, and-”

Dream decides to play along. “Sure, I’ll let you live,” he says, sheathing his sword and offering a hand to the kid. “If you take me to George and don’t let any other rebels arrest me.”

“Take you to… General Not Found?” Purpled asks, taking the hand and letting Dream help him up. “Why? So you can kill him?”

“So I can talk to him,” Dream clarifies. “About your mage.”

“About our… mage,” Purpled says with a nod. “Right. You don’t… know his name?”

“He won’t tell us,” Dream grumbles, and Purpled laughs.

“Yeah, if it means we get T- our mage back, I’ll take you to the General. Don’t expect him to be happy to see you, though.”

Purpled leads him right to the entrance to Pogtopia, a small cave with vines covering the entrance. Dream actually lets out a laugh when he sees the wall of wanted posters, and Purpled turns back to him with a smirk. The kid nods to the rebel at the heavy iron doors. The rebel looks at Dream suspiciously, but doesn’t say anything, and Dream nods respectfully as they walk past.

Pogtopia is still breathtaking, even in its dingy state. Purpled leads him down staircases and directly across the ravine- standing in the middle, able to look in every direction, is a whole new experience. He was too distracted last time to really appreciate it. Purpled lets him stare for a minute or two before clearing his throat and moving them along.

“Wait here,” he says, stopping outside of a wooden door leading to what he’s pretty sure is George and Soot’s shared office. “Don’t go anywhere.”

He waits patiently as Purpled knocks on the door, disappears inside, and then reappears a few minutes later, this time with George at his side. George looks surprised to see him.

“What do you want?” he asks, almost accusatory.

“I’m gonna go,” Purpled mutters, slipping off quickly, leaving Dream and George staring at each other. George crosses his arms. Dream rubs the back of his neck awkwardly.

“We have your mage,” he starts.

“I know that,” George snaps. “Why the hell are you here?”

“I want-” he starts, then stops. “I don’t know why I’m here.”

“Well you’d better figure it out fast, I have ten minutes before I have a meeting with our messengers and about two before I lose my patience.”

Dream takes a deep breath, tries to organize his thoughts quickly.

“Schlatt’s in the palace,” he says eventually. “You know-”

“I know Schlatt, yes,” George confirms. “I don’t think him being in the palace is rare.”

“He wants the throne,” Dream elaborates. “He wants you dead, and now that he knows where you are, he’s gonna have a lot easier time doing it.”

“A lot of people want me dead, Dream, Schlatt can get in line. Is that really all you had to say? You tracked us down for that? Hang on, how’d you even find us-”

“Your mage is being interrogated daily,” Dream continues, ignoring both George’s unfinished query and the dry joke. This makes the general pause.

“Like- like, violently?” he asks. Dream nods. “I mean, we assumed as much, but- who?”

“What?”

“Who’s been beating him up?”

“The head of the king’s personal guard. A knight called Technoblade.”

“Fuck,” George mutters. “The Blood God, Technoblade?”

Right. Techno’s adventuring days, prior to him joining the castle staff. Knighthood offered better pay, he’d told Dream once, probably only partially joking.

“Yeah,” Dream confirms, and George swallows harshly.

“Alright,” he says. “Well- thank you for the information, I guess. Do you want me to- do you want me to walk you out?” His face is red. Dream feels the insistent need to tease him about it.

Yes, his heart supplies. Let him walk you out. “No,” he says. Fucker, his heart tells him. “I’m alright. I think I can find my way.” You absolute fucking moron, his heart says. He stomps it down.

George chuckles. “Try not to ‘find your way’ back here, yeah? You’re lucky it was Purpled that caught you and not Wilbur or Tommy.”

Dream shrugs and holds out a hand. George stares at it for a moment.

“You shake it, George,” he says.

“I know that,” George scowls. He looks hesitant, like shaking Dream’s hand will mean agreeing to something, and maybe it does. Maybe it’ll be the sign of an alliance, maybe Dream isn’t going to exactly help the rebellion, he’s not here to help them, he’s not here to earn their trust, he’s here because Sapnap thinks the whole Pogtopia-mage situation is shitty-

George pulls him out of his thoughts by shaking his hand. Dream mutters something unintelligible, even to himself, and then races off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, thank you for reading! :)


	5. Mvmt II, Part 3: The Grey Spaces In Between

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream’s internal conflict escalates. Tubbo’s does not. The knights have some questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one jumps around a little bit, sorry about that
> 
> also! i finally made a twitter/reactivated my tumblr so come yell at me on either of those places if you want to, both @andthentheybow
> 
> as always, thank you all so much for your support of this! :D

“Oh thank ender,” George mutters, letting out a breath. He turns away from where Dream was just standing and moves back into the office. Wilbur backs away from the door, very clearly having been trying to eavesdrop.

“Well?” he asks. “What did he want?”

“Techno’s the one in charge of interrogating Tubbo,” George replies, and Wilbur lets out a breath of relief. This is good news, because Techno is probably the only one that Tommy and Niki won’t try and murder for hurting Tubbo, and Techno’s probably been going easy on the kid.

Probably.

“Anything else?” Wilbur asks.

“My cousin’s in the palace trying to cook up trouble,” George grumbles, and Wilbur laughs. He and Schlatt have a lot of history; Schlatt’s half the reason why Wilbur and George met in the first place.

“Of course he is,” the other general snorts. “A get-rich-quick scheme or actual trouble?”

“Actual trouble,” he says with a grimace. “Unfortunately for us.”

“Yeah, no shit. Like we don’t have enough problems as it is.”

As if he was one of the said problems being beckoned, Tommy bursts into the office without even knocking. He’s staring at George like the prince just committed sins against his entire bloodline.

“What?” George asks.

“You talked to him?!” Tommy screeches. “What the hell did he say?”

“I actually have a meeting,” George starts. “Will, I’ll let you handle this one-”

“Fucker!” Wilbur cries as his younger brother practically swarms him with questions. George slips out of the office and to the messengers’ main room. Purpled and a few others are waiting for him, the boy pacing nervously. He’s got a determined look on his face, and he snaps to attention when he spots the general.

“Alright,” George says. “Let’s get to work. What’s going on?”

On the way back to the castle Dream makes the decision to not tell anyone where Pogtopia is. It’s not necessarily an easy decision, but he thinks it’s the right one. Right? It’s definitely the right one.

Ender. He’s fucked.

He arrives back at the palace and Sapnap is waiting for him, tapping his foot impatiently.

“Where the hell have you been?” Sapnap asks.

“Not important,” Dream mutters. “Took a personal day.”

“And you’re not telling me about it? I told you about my last personal day, and-”

“Leave it, Sap,” Dream growls, and Sapnap drops it instantly, falling in step slightly behind Dream as they walk further into the castle. “Anything interesting happen?”

“Not a damn thing. I think Techno had a- go at the kid again. Schlatt’s little lackey has been snooping around, too, I saw Sam kicking him out of his workshop earlier.”

“Schlatt’s lackey?”

“Yeah. Called Quackity, I think.”

“Hm.” That’s interesting. Dream knows both Schlatt and Quackity, they’ve stopped by multiple times over the past couple of years. The ram hybrid is a cousin of the king or the prince or something, Dream isn’t sure of the exact relation but he knows Schlatt is next in line for the throne. His right-hand man, however- Dream doesn’t know much about Quackity. Which could be either a problem or a blessing in disguise.

He resolves to hunt Quackity down and talk to him later, and probably Schlatt, too, just to see what’s up. He doesn’t know what he’s planning on saying to either of them, but he’ll figure something out. He always does.

“Well, if you’re taking another personal day, let us know. Punz was asking about you,” Sapnap says, pulling Dream out of his thoughts.

“Where are you heading, then?”

“Karl wants me to teach him how to spar.”

“Simp!” Dream calls. Sapnap flips him off as he jogs away, and Dream heads to find Bad to let him know that he’s back.

He checks Skeppy’s office first, because when Bad isn’t with the king that’s where he normally is. No one’s there, not even Skeppy, so he tries Sam’s workshop next. Antfrost is asleep on a cat bed in one corner, and he blinks one eye open lazily when Dream enters. The knight waves and then pokes his head back out of the room.

“Ender!” he shouts, hand going for his sword reflexively. Sam grins at him, arms full of what looks like nether wart. Behind him is the kid Dream recognizes as Quackity, who’s holding a bag of something.

“Looking for me?” Sam asks.

“Bad, actually,” Dream replies. He levels a gaze at Quackity. “I’m Dream. Captain of the Guard. I don’t know if we’ve ever officially met.”

“Quackity,” the kid responds. “I’m Schlatt’s- uh- assistant? I dunno if assistant is the right word.”

“Why are you hanging out with Sam, Quackity?” Dream asks. Sam rolls his eyes and steps into his workshop, used to Dream being protective over his friends.

“Schlatt told me to help him out,” Quackity says with a shrug. “He doesn’t care about the whole magic being outlawed thing.”

“I see,” Dream says with a nod. Quackity is still pale under his gaze. “Have a nice day, Quackity.”

“You too,” Quackity squeaks out. Dream turns to walk away, and then turns around again.

“Sam, have you seen Bad around?” he calls.

“No!”

“Thanks!”

That means he’s going to have to seek out the king, which he really does not want to do, mostly because he just got the location of their sworn enemy and he’s not going to do anything about it. He’s not sure that would be acceptable in the king’s eyes, and half of him still wants to blurt it out already.

He checks the throne room first, going in through the side door. Lo and behold, the king is there. Bad, standing off to the side, makes eye contact with him as soon as he enters the room; as much as he desperately wants to duck back out, he makes his way over to Bad.

“I’m back,” Dream says.

“I saw that,” Bad chuckles. “Did you have a good time doing whatever you were doing?”

“Incredible,” he replies dryly. “What’s going on?” Bad’s frown drops.

“King David is offering the rebel mage a deal,” he says, swallowing harshly. “His freedom in exchange for the location of the rebels and apprenticing under Sam.”

Oh. Oh- the king is going to manipulate the kid. Dream knows this tactic well, he’s seen the king use it before, on criminals and political opponents alike. Being good at manipulation is a key characteristic of politicians, and the king is nothing if not a politician.

“Dream!” the king calls, and Dream takes a deep breath in and out before moving to kneel in front of the throne.

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

“Welcome back. I’d like you to stay for this, just in case he tries anything.”

The kid isn’t going to try anything and they both know it- this is Dream’s reminder of who’s side he’s on. The knight nods and goes back to standing next to Bad. The main doors open and Techno enters, the royal mage tiny in comparison to the knight. He stumbles a bit as Techno shoves him forward, and Dream grits his teeth. No, he thinks, this is fine. This is the enemy. This is the enemy.

The kid is forced onto his knees in front of the king, head bowed. His wrists are tied, but Dream can still see the golden bracelets glinting.

“Mage of the rebellion,” the king starts. “Do you know why I have called you here?”

He doesn’t respond. Techno gives him a little shove, and he still doesn’t raise his head.

“He still hasn’t told anyone his name?” the king asks Techno, visibly frustrated.

“I believe Duke Schlatt knows, Your Majesty, did he not inform you?” Techno asks, his voice impossibly formal, strained, almost. Dream doesn’t think the king notices, but he does. Techno… Techno doesn’t like this any more than the rest of them. Is Techno secretly on the side of the rebellion? Then he could-

No. He is not going to betray the king. He’s not. He is going to take the rebellion down, and he’ll take down any traitors with it.

“He did not,” the king answers, lips pulled back into a sneer. “It’s no matter. I didn’t even know he spoke to the child.” He’s clearly displeased, but that’s not Dream’s problem, that’s for Schlatt to deal with.

The mage starts shaking, and the knight is worried for a moment before he realizes that it’s laughter.

“You know who I am, King David the Second of Manberg,” the mage spits out, his voice surprisingly harsh, and he finally looks up to make eye contact with the king. “And you’re going to regret your decisions very, very soon.”

There’s silence in the throne room for a moment. Then the king begins to laugh.

“No,” he says. “I don’t think I will. I’m going to offer you a deal, mage, your freedom for the rebellion’s location. I will allow you to walk free, to practice your magic freely, I will even allow you apprenticeship under my royal mage. In return, you will give me the location of the Pogtopia Rebellion.”

Silence again. The kid seems to be thinking on it.

“Do we have a deal?” the king asks.

“Absolutely not,” the mage replies instantly.

Tubbo is, honestly, about to piss himself. Ender, this whole situation is fucking terrifying, with the king staring him down and Dream in one corner and Techno next to him. Of course he’s not going to betray the rebellion, he would never. He’d rather die; there’s a reason he’s been holding out under interrogation for so long. He will never give them up.

The king seems disappointed, but not surprised. Tubbo’s faith in Pogtopia is unwavering; he will not betray them. The king seems to understand that much, at least.

“Very well,” he says. “Maybe attempting to take the location by force will loosen your tongue.”

Oh. Oh no, that’s not good that’s not- he can practically hear Techno tensing behind him. He himself immediately clocks the exits of the room, gets ready to make a break for it, even though he knows he’ll never get anywhere. He looks back to the king, who’s smiling, like he knows exactly what’s going through Tubbo’s mind.

“Your Majesty-” the king’s advisor starts, stepping forward.

“Stand down, Bad,” the king growls. “Leave if you want to.”

The advisor leaves the room hurriedly. Techno takes a step so that he’s in front of Tubbo.

“Sorry, kid,” Techno mutters, his voice low.

Tubbo will not give the king the satisfaction of hearing him scream.

That doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt; it hurts every time. Techno tries his best, but he’s not the blood god for nothing. Tubbo still doesn’t speak, not until the king orders Techno to stand back. Through tear-filled eyes he sees the mixture of shock and anger, all at the fact that he hasn’t talked yet, as well as a bit of what might be satisfaction.

“I swear to ender,” Tubbo says. “You’re going to regret this.”

He spits a wad of blood in the direction of the king’s feet. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Dream leaving the room. He doesn’t have time to ponder it as the king strides forward and backhands him across the face. He’s already unsteady, and the hit knocks him over completely.

“You will learn respect,” the king says. “You and all your little friends. Even if I have to beat it into you. This is my crown, and I am not going to give it up to a group of rag-tag nobodies who send children to fight their wars for them.”

He turns back to his throne and doesn’t even look over his shoulder as he orders Techno to return the mage to his cell. Techno has to pull him up and help him limp out of the room, and as soon as there are no people around, actually scoops the mage up and carries him down.

“I can walk,” Tubbo growls. Techno gives him a look.

He doesn’t say anything as he deposits the mage back in cell, but he mutters something that might be another apology, and ender, Tubbo has never heard Techno apologize as much as he has in the past week than in the rest of his life combined.

He settles down in the corner of his cell, intent on taking a nap and dealing with his injuries later, but ten minutes in he’s interrupted by footsteps revealed to be Quackity.

“Hi,” Quackity says nervously. Tubbo shifts up to the front of the cell.

“Hi,” he replies cautiously.

“I’m here to-” Quackity starts, then stops. “Schlatt heard about what happened. He sent me to make sure you didn’t need healing.”

“Schlatt sent you, or you came yourself?” Tubbo asks, probably a bit too harshly, but to be fair everything still hurts a lot.

“Both,” Quackity admits. “If he didn’t send me I was gonna come anyways.”

Tubbo nods. “Thank you,” he says. “But I don’t need healing. I earned these defending the Rebellion, and they’re going to stay.”

“You sure?” Quackity asks. Tubbo shrugs. The truth is, he doesn’t like other people’s magic, unless he trusts them. That’s how it goes for most magic users, especially ones that are raised in Manberg, where practicing is illegal, where even having it is illegal. You have to learn to be careful.

Besides, if he’s magically (ha, pun) all better, who would the king blame? He doesn’t want any other magic users lurking around the palace to take the fall.

“Why are you here?” Tubbo asks. “In the castle, I mean. Not down here.”

“I go where Schlatt goes,” Quackity says with a shrug. “That’s why.”

“You could leave,” Tubbo offers. “Go somewhere else.”

“Where would I go? Schlatt’s the only thing keeping me from getting arrested.”

Tubbo gives him a look. “What do you think I’ve been doing?” he asks. “You really think I’m the only magic user in Pogtopia?”

Quackity sends him a confused look back. “You’re suggesting I join the rebellion?” he hisses, his voice low.

“Yes,” Tubbo replies bluntly. “We’ll protect you. Not even Dream has found us yet. You’d be safe there.”

“And if you lose? This war with Manberg, I mean? I’ll be killed.”

“Yeah, well, it’s that or hide who you are your whole life. You’re a full mage, right? We could use more mages. Right now there’s only me, and-” He holds up his shackled wrists. “I’m not very useful at the moment.”

“I barely count as a full mage,” Quackity mutters. “I’m just a glorified bodyguard.”

“Then join the Rebellion. We can learn together.”

Quackity gives him a hesitant look, like he’s actually considering it. Tubbo automatically considers that a win.

“I’ll see you later, kid,” Quackity mutters, and Tubbo grins.

Tommy is, in all honesty, fucking pissed. Not only is his best friend missing, but his brother’s being a real dick about it. Something about responsibility and age and the fact that Tommy is ‘volatile’ and ‘angry’ and ‘sending him out probably isn’t the best idea right now.’

George is nicer about it- the other general at least has the balls to look him in the eye and say, “Getting yourself arrested isn’t going to do anything to help Tubbo.”

Which, yes. Getting himself arrested and breaking them out from the inside may have been his plan. Pogtopia is very used to Tubbo magically breaking them out- it’s one of the only things he’s consistently good at, with how wack his training has been- and now that he’s the one arrested, they’ve been struggling with coming up with a good plan.

So, yeah. Tommy was going to take matters into his own hands. And he probably wasn’t going to be the smartest about it. But that doesn’t mean Wilbur needs to bench him for- well, he wasn’t given a time limit. Until they get Tubbo back, probably, which is complete bullshit. They stuck Purpled on his job, Purpled!

Okay, to be fair, Purpled is very capable. Purpled is probably one of their strongest members, he just chooses to hide his abilities rather than flaunt them. And Purpled is older and, yeah, okay, maybe Purpled in his spot is more logical right now. It’s not like he’s the only one, Ranboo’s been benched for this job, too. George claims it’s because it’s a smaller heist, but they all know it’s because Ranboo was one hundred percent planning on sneaking Tommy along with them.

Tommy’s magic is not enjoying this sudden change in events either. His is similar to George’s, except where George’s magic is defensive, his is offensive. It rises when he’s angry, when he’s fighting, when he wants to destroy, and right now he really, really wants to destroy.

“I can literally hear your anger, dude,” Ranboo mutters. They’re sitting outside Pogtopia, supposed to be on guard to give them something to do. Tommy flips the hybrid off, and he can practically feel Ranboo rolling his eyes.

“I’m fine,” Tommy says through gritted teeth. “This is fine.”

“Sure you are,” Ranboo snorts. “What- what.” He cuts himself off, staring at something in the distance. Tommy glances at him, then glances out into the woods- that’s. That’s Dream. The masked knight himself is strolling toward them with his hands in his pockets, axe strapped to his back. Tommy’s magic is immediately screaming as his anger flares, begging to be released, to strike Dream down, make him beg for the mercy he probably isn’t showing Tubbo-

“Oi, bitch!” Tommy yells, raising his crossbow. “Don’t take another step!” Ranboo draws his sword, swearing nervously under his breath.

“I’m stopping!” Dream calls. “Who put you on guard?”

“Fuck off!” Then, “What do you want?”

“I have information on your mage!”

That’s all Dream has to say before Tommy is sprinting. He can hear Ranboo cursing louder, and the hybrid teleports next to him to hold him back from tackling the knight. Dream wheezes, and Tommy raises the crossbow again.

“What do you know?” Tommy snarls.

“Well first, if I didn’t know he was a kid, I would think he was a soldier,” Dream says. “He hasn’t even cracked enough to tell us his name.”

“We’re all soldiers,” Tommy retorts, but inside he’s beaming with pride. “None of us would crack, not with the Rebellion on the line.” And he knows it’s true- they could bring him to the edge of death again and again, and he wouldn’t say an enderdamned word.

“Alright, well,” Dream shrugs. “I just came directly from the castle, I thought maybe I’d talk to George-”

“George isn’t here, and neither is Wilbur,” Ranboo says, stifling a laugh. “Which means, technically, Tommy is in charge.”

“What,” Dream deadpans, and Tommy and Ranboo howl with laughter.

“Yeah, big man!” Tommy roars. “I’m Wilbur’s second-in-command! You talk to me!”

“Fine!” Dream says. “Fine. I left in the middle of an interrogation-”

Tommy’s grin drops. Ranboo nearly drops his sword, scrambling to pick it back up.

“The king offered your mage a deal. Betray your location and gain his freedom. I’m sure you can guess that he refused, and the king- didn’t like that.”

“Why are you telling us this?” Tommy asks. He can feel the anger boiling in his gut again, he wants to destroy, he wants to kill, he wants to storm the castle and burn it to the ground-

A tree branch cracks and drops not five feet away from his head. Dream and Ranboo both startle, and Tommy quickly gains control of the magic that he can feel burning inside of him, begging to be let free, begging to destroy-

“I figured you should know,” Dream says slowly, mask still tilted toward the tree branch. “Did you-”

“Yes,” Tommy snarls. “What are you going to do about it, huh? Arrest me? Put me in jail to rot for something I can’t control?”

Dream looks at him for a moment, frozen in place. Ranboo shifts nervously.

“No,” the knight says, his voice low. “I just came to let you know.”

“Fine,” Tommy snarls. “Get out of here.”

And Dream does. Just like that, he goes. They wait a few minutes to make sure he’s really gone, and both he and Ranboo let out a breath.

“Holy shit, that was terrifying,” Ranboo says.

“Yeah,” Tommy says, stamping down his magic as it rises again. “No shit.”

To make up for Tommy being stuck on guard (they could all see how upset he was, so Wilbur took him down to spar), George offers to take the next shift immediately after they get back. Tommy seemed all too happy to go back down to the ravine, muttering something to the two generals about tree branches and traitors. Ranboo hovers back to let them know what happened- Dream stopped by. Tubbo was offered a deal. Tubbo didn’t break.

“Make sure he knows it’s Technoblade,” George says to Wilbur, and Wilbur nods.

Ender. George has been with them for as long as the Rebellion’s been a feasible idea instead of a hope. He’s literally seen Tommy grow up. After leaving the palace, he stayed with Schlatt for a bit, just a week or two so he could figure out where he was going next. And then he met his cousin’s friend Wilbur, and then he and Wilbur became friends and started planning a revolution. It was after a particularly disastrous mission- well.

He, Wilbur, and Tommy went through a lot before they got to this point, and he knows when Tommy is fucking pissed. He knows when Wilbur is on the verge of a breakdown. He knows when a good spar is enough to help both of them.

He also knows when there’s someone watching him, thanks to that handy built-in alarm system of his. It’s there, but it’s not going, it’s saying hey, someone behind you, not a threat, and he thinks he knows who it is. He turns, raising his bow, and shoots without hesitation. Behind him, Dream freezes, an arrow embedded in the tree next to his head.

“Good shot,” he whistles appreciatively.

“How long have you been hanging out here?” George calls. “Few hours? Won’t your friends at the palace be missing you?”

“They’ll live without me for a bit,” Dream says, and George can practically imagine that cheeky grin on his face. “How are you?”

“What do you want?” George is starting to get really fed up with these little visits of Dream’s, especially if it’s just going to be updates on a situation they don’t know how to deal with. Not for lack of trying, of course, they just-

“I have information,” Dream says, sounding unsure, almost, and George inwardly curses, because here they go again- “I told Tommy and the enderman- Ranboo?- about your mage. But for you- well. I stole some papers before I left. Diplomatic shit.”

Diplomatic shit. Diplomatic- George was raised to be a king, he knows how crucial ‘diplomatic shit’ can be to a kingdom. He knows how important it is to his father. He knows damn well that relations between Manberg and the surrounding territories have been on rocky standing for the past several years, only increasing with the Pogtopia Rebellion. But having details-

“Why?” George asks. They have spies in the castle, Callahan and Alyssa, but the two of them can only get so much through word of mouth. Actual papers-

Dream shrugs. Shrugs. George doesn’t know what it is with the knight, but something is just infuriating about him. He hands the general the bag that was slung over one shoulder, and it’s actually heavy, which- holy shit. Maybe they have more people on the inside than they thought.

“Thank you,” George says. “Genuinely, I- thank you so much.”

“Well, I adore every opportunity to make you speechless,” Dream replies, the cocky tone returning.

“I take it back,” George scowls. “I hate you. I hate you so much-”

“Please, you love me.”

“I really don’t.”

“I’m helping you.”

“Are you?”

They stand there for a moment, goggles staring at mask.

“I need to leave,” Dream says.

“Alright. Thank you.”

And with that, Dream is gone.

Sapnap and Dream have been friends for a long time. They grew up together, they joined the royal guard together, they’ve done a lot together. They’ve been best friends since they were children. They’ve stayed best friends through thick and thin.

Granted, that doesn’t mean they haven’t kept secrets from each other. But this is getting to be excessive.

“This is the second time literally today,” Punz mutters. “Where the hell is he?”

The two knights, along with Ponk, have been waiting in Bad’s rarely-used office since Bad came and found them and told them the mage was being tortured- sorry, interrogated- again. Techno stopped by looking for Dream, saying that he wasn’t anywhere else in the castle. The three did a sweep and came up empty-handed.

“He told Bad it was personal business,” Ponk offers. “Sap? You’d know the most about that.”

Which is the thing. Normally he would. Only this time, he’s been left in the dark just as the rest of them have, and he doesn’t want to admit how much that hurts.

“No idea,” Sapnap says with a shrug. “Seriously. He told me to fuck off when I asked.” Which, okay, he didn’t, but by not telling, he practically did.

As if their annoyance with him summons him, the captain of the guard enters the room. He rips his mask off and tosses it on Bad’s desk, revealing his scarred face. Sapnap’s seen it before, but Punz and Ponk do what they normally do and respectfully turn away the second they see the mask coming off.

“Uh, Dream?” Sapnap offers. “Mask?”

“Fuck!” Dream yells. His face is red, like he’s just been running, and he haphazardly ties the mask back around his head. “Sorry, guys, we’re good.”

The other two turn around, exchanging careful grins.

“Where have you been?” Sapnap asks, and he tries to not sound like an overprotective mother and probably fails miserably. Because yeah, Dream’s business is Dream’s business, but when he takes off twice in a day for prolonged periods of time of course Sapnap is going to worry.

“It’s not important,” Dream says, shaking his head. “Personal stuff. Sorry, guys.”

“Personal stuff my ass,” Sapnap says. “You’re going somewhere and hiding something, and by not telling us, you’re jeopardizing the whole team!”

“We’re just concerned about you, Dream,” Punz tries.

“You can trust us,” Ponk agrees.

Sapnap looks at him desperately, but he can see Dream stiffening.

“It’s personal business,” Dream repeats, and with that, strides back out of the room.

“Ender,” Ponk curses.

“That could have gone worse,” Punz adds sarcastically.

“We’ll find out,” Sapnap vows. “You know us. We will.”

“Why are you here?”

The ram hybrid jumps, turning back to Dream as the knight slams his fist against the wall. He adjusts his tie and recovers quickly, meeting Dream’s eye (or, the eyes of Dream’s mask. Same difference).

“What do you mean?” Schlatt replies with an easy grin. Dream managed to catch him leaving the throne room, without his right-hand man, and now he’s dead set on not letting Schlatt get away without figuring out his intentions first. “Am I not allowed to visit my relatives?”

“You’re cooking up trouble and we both know it,” Dream counters. “What’s the goal here?”

“Alright, I’ll be honest,” Schlatt says, dropping his voice. “The Rebellion’s been getting a little out of hand. Don’t get me wrong, I agree with pretty much everything they stand for, and I think David’s a fucking prick of a king. He’s good at playing the politician, but he’s no good at getting the people to like him. And George- I’ll be honest, I just don’t trust George on the throne. He works with people like Wilbur Soot, and that’s a recipe for disaster.”

“You want the throne.”

“Of course I want the throne, keep up. The king doesn’t whisper about me being a power-hungry bastard for nothing.”

“And the Rebellion’s mage?”

“What does he have to do with anything?” Schlatt looks confused, but Dream can see right through him. The kid has something to do with this.

“You know his name, apparently.” Dream’s tone is accusatory, and Schlatt balks. He recovers himself, adjusting his tie again.

“What about it?” he asks. “Like I just told the king. If the kid wants to talk, he’ll talk. I’m not on anybody’s side here but my own, and it’ll do you all good to remember it.”

With that, Schlatt stalks off. Dream watches him go for a moment. If Schlatt isn’t on anybody’s side, why can’t he be? He can help the Rebellion and do his job, things aren’t always black and white, there’s the grey area in between that he can rest in. Right?

For all his bloodlust and duel wins and the fact that he and Phil technically conquered an empire, once, Techno is an english major at heart. He loves mythology, and speeches, and reading long books about war strategies and quoting them to his brothers.

He also loves chaos. He loves adventuring. He used to be an adventurer, the Blood God, travelling the world with Phil the Survivor, Mr. Hardcore. Techno with his tusks and Phil with his great grey wings were a terrifying sight, striking fear in the hearts of those who saw them.

Of course, he decided to help his brothers out with their little rebellion, mostly because they told him he’d be directly involved in the dismantling of a tyrannical government. He likes dismantling tyrannical governments. He’s referred to himself as a violent anarchist on multiple occasions. Phil was more than supportive of it, encouraging him to read a good book or two while he was playing spy.

He didn’t think playing spy would take two years, but hey, here they are. Phil’s still out adventuring, and he writes, sometimes. Slowly, the cause of his brothers has become his cause. He’s seen first hand the pain that the prosecution of magic users has caused- hell, he’s got his younger brother’s best friend’s blood all over his hands. And Phil- most people don’t know it, but Phil is a mage, too, and if one thing is certain, it’s that Techno will do anything for Phil.

Including infiltrating a hostile government and becoming the king of said government’s closest confidant, all with the goal of taking them down.

Of course, he’s sure his brothers will try to get George on the throne as soon as they conquer the government, and he’s not really on board with that, but they told him he could just take off right after. Go back to adventuring with Phil. He figures he’ll do that. Phil got pretty badly injured by a baby zombie a while back, maybe they’ll go around and destroy every zombie spawner on this continent. That could be fun.

“This has gone on long enough,” Wilbur announces. “We’re not going to find a way to break Tubbo out, and obviously things are getting a little wild, and-”

“What are you saying, Wilbur?” George asks. He, Wilbur, and Niki are sitting in the medbay, supposedly to be discussing next options. Wilbur called him here maybe a few hours after George told him about everything Dream had said, clearly having told Niki everything.

“I’m saying we break out our secret weapons,” Wilbur says. “Niki and I have come up with some options.”

“I’m writing to our supplier,” Niki says, a mischievous grin on her face. “If anyone can break Tubbo out, he can.”

George grins. They promised not to drag their supplier into it, not directly, but this- this is the only way. And it’s a very effective way. They’re in the end game now.

“And you, Wilbur?” he asks.

“Oh,” Wilbur says, his grin mimicking Niki’s. “I’m writing to my dad.”


	6. Mvmt III, Part 1: The Captains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new king enters the game. Reunions occur. Dream chooses sides.

Dear Dadza,

Hi there. How have you been? Listen. I know you’re very busy with your empire and you swore that you weren’t going to get roped into our fights, and I know we already dragged Techno away. But we could really use your help. Our revolution has been very successful! Unfortunately that means we’ve attracted a lot of attention, both good and bad.

Tommy and I were recently arrested, along with George. Needless to say, his cover was blown. We escaped fairly quickly, thanks to our resident mage, but get this! Tubbo has also been arrested, with virtually no way of getting him out.

In the case that this letter is intercepted, I’ll keep the name secret, but Niki is currently writing to our supplier. And since you gave me direct permission to contact you about this if Niki contacted them, I’m writing this letter.

We could use your help, Phil. Seriously. It’ll be a good fight, something fun, get the blood pumping, you know?

Anyways. Tommy says hello, and I’m sure Techno does too, the bastards. They’re both awful. Please write back/I hope to see you soon.

Much love from your favorite son,

Wilbur

Tubbo is, deadass, not having a good time. He rolls his neck and six different body parts immediately cry out in pain. He doesn’t even want to get up at this point, but he can hear two sets of footsteps pounding down the hall and he figures he should probably not look like a wounded dog for that.

He manages to get himself to a standing position and his legs nearly collapse underneath him. The world goes white for a second and his ears start ringing, and a moment later he can hear someone worriedly telling him to sit down, take it easy.

He focuses in to see Schlatt and Quackity, both watching him. He manages to glare at them, and Schlatt actually laughs.

“Hey, kid,” he says.

“Do I know you?” Tubbo drawls, and winces. Just talking hurts.

“Ha, ha,” Schlatt retorts. “Hilarious. You know, I was gonna give you this nice painkiller potion, since you seemed insistent at not letting other people’s magic near you, but I guess-”

“Potion?” he asks, instantly perking up. The other two men both chuckle, and the ram hybrid pulls out a bottle of glowing pink liquid. Potions are ridiculously hard to make and ridiculously hard to come by, considering the immensely rare materials needed for brewing them. But Schlatt is a royal, isn’t he? Of course he has access to expensive things like potions. Still, Tubbo would be a fool to pass that up, especially in this state.

“I’ll give it to you, kid, don’t worry,” Schlatt says. “Just as long as you make me a promise.”

Tubbo was about to reach through the bars, but here, he visibly hesitates. Schlatt catches it, though he doesn’t think Quackity does.

“What promise?” he asks.

“That you remember who helped you while you were down here,” Schlatt says. “Not Techno. Yeah, I know he’s a spy, he’s not as discreet as he’d like to be. Not Dream- oh, based on your face he’s not a spy yet, but he probably will be. Not one of the other people George has stationed here. It was me. I’m sure there’s someone your rebel friends could’ve snuck materials to, yeah? To give to you? But no, it’s me that’s giving you one of the only potions I have.”

And shit. Tubbo knows that Schlatt’s probably trying to manipulate him, because he’s a vaguely powerful mage that’s also a kid and very easily influenced, and it’s working. Because Schlatt’s right, isn’t he, Schlatt and Quackity have shown him actual kindness here, everyone else has just kind of ignored him, and Wilbur could have easily given Callahan or Alyssa stuff for Tubbo, and-

“I’ll remember,” he promises. Schlatt grins and hands him the potion through the bars, and he drinks it greedily. Instantly, he can feel it beginning to work, not healing his injuries but definitely easing his pain. It’s no regeneration potion, not even a healing one, but it’s better than nothing.

“Well?” Quackity asks. “How’s my brewing?”

“Excellent,” Tubbo responds with a smile, and Quackity grins. He rolls his neck and it doesn’t hurt this time, and Schlatt’s smile fades from something predatory to something protective.

“Good,” he says. “Just so you’re aware- I think your little friends are sending someone to barter for your release. You’ll be out soon. Remember-”

“That you’re the one who helped me,” Tubbo recites. “Thank you, Schlatt. Really.”

Tubbo knows this is manipulation, and he knows that if he’d been in here any longer, it would probably be a lot more effective. And he doesn’t know what Schlatt’s playing at, if it’s the long game or what. But for now, Schlatt’s just another politician that was a little nice to him. He doesn’t think that outweighs years of care under Pogtopia.

Schlatt nods and leaves, but Quackity hangs back, looking like he wants to say something.

“Did you think about what I said?” Tubbo asks, and Quackity shrugs.

“I reckon you’re right,” Quackity admits. “Maybe someday.”

“Maybe someday,” Tubbo echoes, and Quackity hurries off. Tubbo leans back, empty bottle clutched in his hands, and he smiles to himself. He’ll be out soon, apparently, and if the rebellion is sending someone to barter, then that means today will be a good day.

“Dream!” the familiar voice of Technoblade calls. Dream whirls around- it’s been three days since he first went to find Pogtopia, and in that time, he’s gone back twice, sneaking information without ever actually stating that he’s on their side. He thinks they get it, either way, even though Tommy nearly put a crossbow bolt between his eyes the last time he was there.

Both times, he talked to George a fair amount. He honestly would consider George a friend. Something in him feels the need to protect, especially after learning more about George’s life, his time in the castle, his time in the rebellion. In turn, he’s shared about his friends, his training, his rivalry with Techno. Making George laugh, making him blush, sets off that Feeling in his gut that he’s trying not to think about.

“Dream!” Techno calls again. Dream stops and turns around; he wasn’t going anywhere important anyways.

“What’s up?” he asks.

“Just got word from the Kingdom of Pride. They want a meetin’ immediately. They’ve got a delegation on their way now.”

Oh. That’s- well, that’s something. The Kingdom of Pride is directly to the northeast of Manberg, and they’re pretty much the kingdom’s only source of trade right now outside of the few other nations Manberg is directly allied with. The king is young, but they’re an effective ruler, maintaining positive relations with every kingdom they’ve ever interacted with while simultaneously remaining loved by their people. If the king is coming here, that means they could be discussing trade or war. And while all other neighboring kingdoms have either denounced or supported the Pogtopia Rebellion, the Kingdom of Pride has remained neutral.

And if the Kingdom of Pride throws their lot in with Pogtopia, Manberg doesn’t stand a chance.

“Is the king sending their ambassadors?” Dream asks. That’s what normally happens.

“No,” Techno says with a frown. “King Eret will be here themself, along with their closest advisors. Supposedly Manberg has somethin’ they want.”

Which is really, really not good. If King Eret is coming here, if they have something they want, they’re going to get it. Depending on what it is they want, that could be detrimental.

“Did they say what?” Dream asks. They’re walking toward the throne room; if the delegation is on its way, it’ll be here soon, and the king of Manberg will probably be fuming.

“No, just that they’d be here before sundown. Which is in about an hour.”

Ender. They must’ve sent the letter right before leaving, then, if their messenger just got it to the palace.

“Five gold says the king throws something,” Dream mutters to Techno as they’re just outside the doors.

“You’re on.”

The two knights enter the throne room, and just as Dream predicted, the king is fuming. He’s got a crumpled piece of paper in his hand, and when he throws it down to the ground, Dream sees the distinctive seal of the Kingdom of Pride. The queen is next to him, clearly trying to calm him down. He picks up the paper, shakes it as he points something out to her, and throws it down again.

“That doesn’t count,” Techno mutters. Dream holds out a hand. Techno huffs and slips him some gold before striding toward the king. Dream hovers back near the door, and Bad rushes up to him, Karl in tow.

“This is going to be awful,” Bad moans. “We’re not ready to host a delegation, let alone the king, let alone a king like Eret-”

“It’ll be fine, Bad,” Karl mutters. “Hi, Dream, where have you been?”

“Here?” Dream questions.

“No, I mean where have you been slipping off too? Sapnap’s been wondering-”

Bad indiscreetly elbows his assistant, and Karl cuts himself off. Dream chuckles, but inside he’s panicking, because if anyone’s going to figure him out it’s Sapnap. Not that Sapnap would be mad, he’s made it clear that he doesn’t support the capture of the rebel mage, but does that translate to support of the Rebellion? And if it does, why does Sap still seem so loyal to the king? Is it because-

“Dream!” Bad nearly yells, clearly having been trying to get his attention. Dream nods to show that he’s listening now. “We need you and your team stationed here. We have no idea what’s going on or what’s going to go down, so just as a safety, okay? Skeppy and Karl will be meeting the delegation at the gates, just- get your people around, okay?”

Dream nods and sees Sapnap, Punz, and Ponk entering the room, all in full armor. Sapnap’s carrying a bag that likely has most of his armor, or at least his badge and chainmail. He sighs. It’s going to be a long day.

The other three knights are cold toward him, and he knows it’s because he won’t tell them what he’s up to. He stations them around with Sapnap closest to him, just in case. He puts himself closest to Bad and Karl, because if a fight breaks out, he needs to be able to protect them. By the time he’s done with that and has his gear on, the perfect picture of the captain of the guard, he can hear movement outside, loud voices and purposeful footsteps.

Dream exchanges a look with Techno, standing poised barely behind the king, a clear threat. Not a sign of aggression, but a sign that they’re not going to go down without a fight. In terms of war, Manberg could easily take the Kingdom of Pride; they’re lovers, not fighters. Manberg’s warriors just want bloodshed.

The doors open and several people stride inside. Dream clocks King Eret instantly, surrounded by heavily-armored guards. There’s a familiar-looking woman in a long dress at their side, crown on her head; probably a sibling, then, he doesn’t think Eret’s married. That would be an event he’d probably have to attend. Eret themself has a long cape, a huge crown, and sunglasses perched carefully on their nose. The few times Dream has seen the other king, they’ve always had the sunglasses on, similar to Dream and his mask.

“Announcing King Eret and Princess Nihachu of the Kingdom of Pride,” Karl says loudly, a slight shake in his voice. He hurries to stand next to Bad as the king of Manberg rises from his throne. Dream watches the two kings stare each other down before both breaking into wide grins. They each take a few steps forward to shake each other’s hands, murmuring greetings to each other. The queen of Manberg and Princess Nihachu hug gently, like old friends, and when the princess pulls away Dream startles.

That’s Niki. That’s the Pogtopia Rebellion’s cleric, Niki, who healed him and was kind to him. Princess Nihachu of the Kingdom of Pride is a healing mage, and part of the rebellion Dream is trying to take down.

Niki faces him as she turns away from the queen, and he swears he sees her wink.

The king and queen return to their thrones, and Eret and their delegation remain standing a good distance away.

“Why have you come, King Eret?” the king of Manberg asks. Eret clears their throat- Dream knows they’re technically the same age, but Eret looks much older. Must be the weight of carrying a kingdom.

“Exactly as I stated, King David,” Eret says, their deep voice echoing throughout the throne room. “It’s come to my attention that you have something I value very deeply, and I would like it back.”

“Well, I wouldn’t quite phrase it that way,” the king says. “If it comes under my jurisdiction-”

“No rules were broken,” Eret says loudly. “I know your constitution, Your Majesty, and I also know about the conventional rules of inter-kingdom relations. Please, for both of our sakes, and for the safety of our kingdoms, bring me Prince Toby or prepare to go to war.”

The king swallows harshly and nods to Technoblade. The knight slips out of the room, and there’s a tense silence as everyone in the room puts two and two together.

Techno returns with the rebel’s mage in front of him. The kid looks like shit, Dream thinks, barely able to stand on his feet. The golden bracelets are shining. Sam and Antfrost both slip into the room behind them.

“Tubbo!” Niki calls, and Eret holds out an arm to keep her from running forward. Sam performs some spell that releases the anti-magic bracelets, and there’s a murmur of awe as purple magic seems to flow from everyone and back into the rebel’s mage- Prince Toby- Tubbo’s body. He looks up and his eyes are glowing for a moment. Techno gives him a little shove and he stumbles forward, directly into Niki’s arms.

“Thank you,” Eret says. “We will return to our own kingdom now; please, do not arrest any of my siblings on false pretenses again.”

“There were no false pretenses,” the king sneers. “Your child brother was working with the Pogtopia Rebellion to take my kingdom down. He was performing acts of magic in a place where magic is banned. I had every right to arrest him.”

“Did you see him working magic, or did you just suspect? Did he actually claim to be with the rebellion, or did you just suspect it before his arrest?” Eret retorts. “I will make sure he is not trouble here again, but you will do well to remember who we are.”

And Dream thinks that they’re right. Eret is right. Everything that they’re doing here, it’s all unjust, all of it-

“Dream,” the king calls, looking furious. “Please see to it that Their Majesty and their siblings return to their kingdom. Join their delegation to the border.”

“Yes, sir,” Dream answers, stalking forward. Niki has a small smile on her face. Eret takes Tubbo’s weight from her and lifts the kid into their arms, striding out of the room with ease. Dream follows them to a pair of plain-looking wagons, and Eret nods to him to indicate he can climb in behind the royals. He sits next to Eret, one hand on his axe. Niki and Tubbo are across from them, the mage passed out cold. The rest of the delegation climbs into the second wagon.

“Can you heal him?” Eret asks Niki, not paying any attention to the knight.

“Here?” Niki asks skeptically, absent-mindedly stroking her brother’s hair. “Right in front of the palace that arrested him for doing magic?”

“Come on, it would be funny,” the king says, and Niki laughs.

“No,” she says, shaking her head. “He just got his magic back, no way he doesn’t unconsciously attack me.”

“Shit, yeah,” Eret concedes. They turn to Dream. “So. You’re George’s new boyfriend.”

“I- excuse me?” Dream sputters.

“General Not Found’s new little friend. Informant. Yet another spy inside the palace,” Eret says teasingly. The spy comment throws him off- another? Niki looks startled.

“Eret!” she hisses, but Eret waves her off.

“George says he’s fine, we can trust him.”

They go back and forth for a moment about whether Dream is trustworthy or not, and eventually decide that he is. Dream is left on the fact the George thinks he’s trustworthy.

“So you’re with the Rebellion, too, then? Your Majesty?” he thinks to tack on to the end. Eret just laughs.

“No,” they say. “I made them promise not to drag me in. I just buy everything and provide all their materials and bail them out of jail occasionally.”

“How the hell did you even get involved?” Dream asks, directing this question at Niki. She just shrugs.

“Long story,” she says, very clearly not going to provide said story. Dream nods and glances out the side of the wagon, and it’s then that he realizes they’re definitely not heading for the border and that the second wagon, with Eret’s delegation, is gone.

“Where are we going?” he asks, turning to Eret. Eret just grins at him.

“Where do you think?” the king asks. “Pogtopia, of course. I sent the rest of them home, they don’t need to be here for this.” Dream nods toward the knight driving their wagon, and Eret shrugs.

“Captain Puffy,” Niki says, “is technically not a member of the Rebellion-”

“But I may as well be,” Captain Puffy snorts. “With how much I cart Her Highness back and forth.”

The three begin bickering, leaving Dream alone to his thoughts. Pogtopia. Awesome. Awesome. He’s got about an hour to make up his mind, then, if he’s actually doing this or not, if he’s letting go and full sending it, if he’s going to join the rebellion. 

The hour seems to pass quickly, eventually becoming a discussion between Dream, Eret, Niki, and Puffy about politics among the kingdoms and then just information about themselves, and by the end of it, Dream actually likes Eret a lot- he already knew he liked Niki, and now that opinion is just solidified. The king insists after the fourth time Dream hurries to add “your majesty” onto the end of a sentence that Dream just calls them Eret, and the knight obliges.

“We’re close,” Niki says as they leave the nearest village and enter the forest, nudging Tubbo gently. The kid’s been sleeping the whole ride, only stirring occasionally when they hit a bump in the road. “Are you going to be coming in, Dream?”

Dream ponders for a moment, and decides that yes, he is going to come in. He tells them this, and the two siblings exchange a grin, like they know the secret meaning behind his words. The more he thinks about it, the more he realizes they probably do.

Dream can see the ivy hangings covering the entrance to the ravine, and he also sees the two people slipping inside and the loud yelling that comes immediately after. The wagon comes to a stop and Eret leaps over the side. Tubbo is awake now, watching Dream warily.

“Is he on our side, now?” the mage asks.

“Uh-” Dream starts. Niki just nudges the kid to the edge of the wagon, where Eret is waiting to help him down.

“I can walk,” Tubbo protests, his legs crumpling. There’s a loud shout and Dream sees Tommy bolting out of the cave, moving for Tubbo at a dead sprint. Tubbo lets out an ‘oof’ as the two kids collide, Eret holding both of them up. Wilbur and George are both following, and Dream assumes the rest of the Rebellion is waiting just out of sight.

“All good?” Wilbur asks, hugging Niki tightly and taking in the princess dress she’s still wearing. “You look good.”

“You look like shit,” she giggles in response. George greets Eret with a hug and Eret very clearly whispers something in his ear. The general turns to see Dream, now leaning against the side of the wagon.

“Hey,” Dream says.

“Thank you,” George says, standing a few feet away from the knight. Behind them, Wilbur hugs Tubbo and then Eret.

“I didn’t do anything,” Dream says. George gives him a look.

“You’re here again, Dream,” he points out. “Why?”

Dream is about to answer when Tubbo collapses. Niki pointedly shoves Tommy back, much to the younger’s chagrin, as Wilbur scoops the mage up to carry him inside. The rest of the rebels follow, Eret casting a glance back and flashing a thumbs-up. Dream doesn’t know if it’s for him or George or both.

“You can go now,” George says. “I should probably make sure Tommy doesn’t annoy Eret into punching him.”

“I have a reason, actually,” Dream says quickly, before he can stop himself. “For being here, I mean.” George waits for him to continue, and he swallows harshly. “I want to join the Rebellion.”

George blinks. He doesn’t look taken aback, exactly the opposite, like he’s been waiting for Dream to tell him that.

“You understand that we can’t trust you completely, right?” the general asks, and Dream nods.

“I just think-” he starts, then stops. “Well. I think the king’s rule is fucking bullshit, honestly.” George laughs at this, jerking his head toward the cave. Dream gets the message and follows him inside. “And I don’t trust Schlatt as a leader in the slightest.”

“Which leaves me,” George says.

“Well, from what I’ve seen, you run a pretty good Rebellion. The people here love you. You’re a good public speaker. And you’re not a massive fucking dick. That sounds like the makings of a good king to me.”

And, alright. Maybe, some little part of Dream is simping a little bit. He’d never admit it to himself, but something about being around George, even when they’re against each other, just feels right. When he gets that Feeling, something deep in the back of his mind stirs. Like it’s meant to be.

“Well, then,” George says, and his face is bright red. Dream makes a mental note to make fun of him for that later. “Welcome to Pogtopia. As a rebel, this time.”

And he opens the great iron door and lets Dream in.

“Seriously?” Wilbur says, arms crossed, one eyebrow raised.

“Seriously,” Dream confirms.

Niki kicked all of them except Tommy out while she healed Tubbo (which, granted, George doesn’t think she could’ve kicked Tommy out if she tried. And she tried). Wilbur is leaning back against one wall of their office. Eret is sitting on the desks, swinging their legs back and forth. George is hovering near the doorway as Wilbur stares Dream down.

“Well, fuck,” Wilbur says with a shrug. “Who am I to turn away more rebels?”

“Wait, really?” Dream says, glancing back to George. George makes a face at him- why should he know what runs through Wilbur’s mind? “Just like that?”

“Just like that,” Wilbur confirms. “You understand that there’ll be some information we keep from you, just until you prove that you’re trustworthy-”

“He’s trustworthy,” George interrupts, because not once has his magic deemed Dream a threat. Wilbur knows this is why George is saying it and levels a look at him.

“George, your little alarm system didn’t go off when Dream tackled you off a fire escape,” the other general says scathingly.

“Alarm system?” Dream asks.

“You got tackled off a fire escape?” Eret says at the same time, their expression gleeful. George chooses to ignore both of them in favor of glaring at Wilbur.

“Including but not limited to any other spies we may have in the palace,” Wilbur says, finishing his thoughts from earlier. “Your role will also not be up for debate, you’ll be a spy reporting directly to General Not Found. You’re not to tell any of your friends in the palace-”

“Can we go back to George getting tackled off a fire escape?” Eret asks, shit-eating grin still present. George flips them off; Wilbur rolls his eyes.

“George got tackled off a fire escape by Dream the first time they met,” Wilbur explains quickly. “That’s the story.”

“That shouldn’t happen,” Eret says. They know damn well about George’s magic, they’ve been best friends for years. Both royals of nearly the same age forced into too many formal gatherings together, of course Eret knows.

“Am I missing something here?” Dream asks impatiently.

“George’s magic wasn’t set off by you,” Wilbur says.

“Not even when you were attacking me,” George agrees. “Either time. It stopped us from hitting the ground too hard, but it should have stopped you before you even touched me.”

Dream is staring at him. George can’t tell if there’s a look on his face due to the mask, so he waits patiently for the knight to say something.

“You have magic?” he sputters eventually. Eret and Wilbur both burst into laughter.

“You didn’t know?” George asks, genuinely confused. He’s used it against Sapnap plenty of times, more times than he can count, really, and there’s no reason for Sapnap to not tell anyone in the palace. It probably would’ve helped them.

“No,” Dream answers, and it feels honest. “What kind of magic? Can you show me?”

George and Wilbur exchange an amused look. Eret struggles to get their laughter under control.

“No,” he replies. “It doesn’t work like that. I can’t control it, it’s mostly dormant. Just acts up when I need defending.”

“We call it his built-in alarm system for a reason,” Wilbur adds. “Now- are those terms agreeable? Reporting to George, acting as a spy in the palace, et cetera et cetera?”

“Reporting to George?” Dream asks, with That tone of voice, and George groans. He can feel his face heating up. “Sounds good to me.”

“This is why I thought you were dating,” Eret clarifies. “Ender, George, you should hear him talk about you. The whole ride here was George this and George that, George is so cool, I wish I could see George more-”

“We’ve met, like, seven times!” George protests.

“Best seven moments of my life,” Dream says, clearly struggling to hold back a laugh.

“And you’re not in the clear either, George, I’m surprised you didn’t kidnap him again sooner,” Wilbur tacks on, he and Eret clearly teaming up on them. “You’re both- alright, let me state it plain: you’re both massive simps, is what I’ve learned.”

George buries his face in his hands. Dream stands a bit taller; proud or smug, George can’t tell.

“I hate you both,” George mutters. The two roar with laughter again.

“It’s alright, Georgie,” Dream coos. “You can admit that you love me.”

“I hate you, too!” he grumbles. And he does talk about Dream a fair amount, he thinks Dream is- well, he thinks Dream is pretty cool, actually. Not the massive cocky dickhead he originally thought the knight was. He’s passionate, and intelligent, and actually really, really fun to be around. He’s deduced that he didn’t know Dream before, that’s not why his magic is quiet around Dream, but there has to be something. There has to be some reason.

“You don’t,” Dream says, but more cautious this time.

“I don’t,” George begrudgingly admits. Wilbur wolf-whistles, and Eret applauds.

“Well, then, General Soot and Your Majesty Eret,” Dream says, his voice overly formal as he turns back. “It’ll be a pleasure working for you.”

“It’ll be a pleasure having you work with us,” Eret says with a grin. “I assume you have all the gear you need, so that’s another person I don’t have to provide for.”

“We don’t talk about the legalities of it,” George says quickly, because he knows Dream is going to ask. “We break enough laws, what are a few more?”

“I mean, I think these are like, international conventions-” Dream starts, and all three of them shush him. George can practically feel his smile.

“Welcome to the team, Dream,” George says, and Dream turns back, and even with that stupid smiley-face mask, something clicks into place, and George’s grin widens.

“Hey,” Dream says as he bursts into Bad’s office. “Skeppy told me you were here, sorry, I got caught up with King Eret at the border, we were having a pretty good discussion about trade regulations-”

“Dream,” Bad says slowly. He’s been purposefully waiting in his office since Dream’s disappearance hit the three hour mark, knowing that this was a conversation Dream would want to have in private. Not even Skeppy knows, and keeping secrets from Skeppy is hard. “I know that it doesn’t take seven hours to get to the Kingdom of Pride’s border and back.”

“I told you, I got caught up-” Dream starts, and he’s rubbing the back of his neck. That’s a major tell, that and the waver in his voice. Bad has known Dream for a long, long time, they’ve been best friends for years, and he knows when Dream is lying to him.

“Dream,” he says again, even slower. “Answer me honestly. Are you working for Pogtopia?”

Dream turns toward the door and closes it quietly.

“Sam’s already sound-proofed the room, if it helps,” Bad offers. Dream nods and carefully slips his mask off. Bad relishes the opportunity to his friend’s face, knowing that it’s rare, that he and Sapnap are the only ones in the castle and maybe the world that have actually seen it in the past several years. 

Dream claims the reason he wears the mask is because of the scar running from one corner of his face to the other, because he doesn’t like people looking at it. Bad and Sapnap know that the real reason is his eyes: brilliant, unnatural green. Dream doesn’t have magic, Sam’s checked multiple times, both with Dream’s knowledge and without it. And as far as any of them know, Dream isn’t a hybrid. The eyes raise some uncomfortable questions. The mask stays on.

“Yeah,” Dream answers. “Yeah, I just- I just started officially working for them today.”

“Okay,” Bad says. “And you’re being safe?”

Dream does a double-take. “You’re not going to turn me in?”

Bad actually laughs. What kind of friend would he be then? “No, you muffinhead,” he says. “I care about you, and I care about your safety. And- I mean, I know you’re not going to tell anyone, but- I don’t really like the king either.”

Dream gives him a look, half-surprise, half-smug. “Really?”

“We’re called the Badland Coalition,” Bad answers with a nod. “We’re not directly supporting Pogtopia, but we’re certainly not supporting the king.”

“Who’s we?”

“Skeppy, Sam, Ant, and Karl.” He just recently got his assistant on board, mostly because Karl accidentally found out and immediately asked to join. He’s not one to say no to his friends, especially with something as important as this.

“Huh,” Dream says, and Bad nods.

“Since you are working for them, I feel like I should let you know- the king’s called for reinforcements.”

Dream’s expression drops, turning to something sour. “Reinforcements?” he asks, and Bad swallows harshly. He’s the one that sent the letters, that wrote out the orders.

“Old adventurers. Friends of the king’s. Knights from the other- other corrupt governments. Most of them are arriving tomorrow, and they’ve got one goal.” He pauses for dramatic effect, but mostly because he thinks Dream already knows. “Taking Pogtopia down.”

“Oh,” Dream says. “Shit.”

Another pause.

“Language!”

He can see it, in the distance. The Kingdom of Manberg, where his sons are waiting.

He flies faster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments/kudos/etc make my day & keep me writing! come vibe w me on twitter/tumblr! @andthentheybow


	7. Mvmt III, Part 2: Entrances and Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Pogtopia Rebellion makes a plan. The Badlands Coalition makes a decision. The Winged Survivor makes an entrance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy new year!!!

“So essentially, things are bad,” Wilbur concludes. George pinches the bridge of his nose with one hand. Ender. Fuck.

In the past week, everything has gone to shit. There’s been no sign of Wilbur and Tommy’s father, who Wilbur reckons should’ve gotten the letter by now. There’s been plenty of signs of Dream, who’s taken to stopping by in the night to avoid suspicion. His frequent appearances have left George’s heart spiralling and Tommy complaining to Wilbur that Dream can sneak away every night, why the hell can’t Techno? Wilbur reminds him that Techno is the king’s personal guard, stationed pretty much around the clock, and Tommy calls Wilbur a bitch, and then they start fighting, and George and Tubbo get collective headaches that don’t go away for several hours.

Tommy and Dream bicker like nobody’s business, which really doesn’t help matters, either. He doesn’t know why he’s responsible for Dream, but fuck it, the knight calms his magic and makes his heart stutter, he’ll reap the benefits and deal with the consequences. The consequences being the massive fucking headache he has right now while Wilbur reads the messengers’ latest report.

George knew things in the villages were getting bad; Dream told them about the reinforcements called for by the king the day after Tubbo’s return. He’s the prince, he knows what kind of friends his father has. King David may not be the most popular king to his people, but there are still plenty of corrupt governments out there who want the common folk brought down. There’ll be plenty of aid sent to Manberg, and Pogtopia will suffer for it.

So yeah, he knew things were getting bad. He didn’t know they were getting this bad. Reports have been coming in from all over of widespread violence, hundreds of raids and arrests of anyone suspected of aiding and abetting rebels. The king is pulling out all the stops to make sure Pogtopia is brought down.

And they have secret weapons, sure! The head of the king’s personal guard and the captain of the whole fucking guard are secretly working for them. Which is good! That’s good. But they can’t exactly do anything on the inside without the king immediately knowing there’s something up and they’ll lose their one element of surprise.

Currently, they’re in their (mostly unused) meeting room. Wilbur is at the head of the table, switching from Techno’s report to reading off the report that Purpled and the other messengers compiled. George is leaning against the wall, watching from the sidelines; he’s already read it, but it still stings hearing it again. Dream is sitting on a shelf next to him, still towering over George. Fucking tall people.

Tommy is sitting in the chair closest to Wilbur, Tubbo directly next to him. The two haven’t been separated since Tubbo’s return, which normally would have made missions difficult, but the Rebellion hasn’t actually been doing anything. Tubbo recovered quickly, Niki refusing to let him do anything strenuous for at least three days, even though she was able to heal him almost instantly. He and Tommy have taken to trailing after George, claiming that George is much more interesting than Wilbur, and George knows it’s because he’s more level-headed. Wilbur is prone to throwing things at walls when he gets extremely frustrated, and Tubbo’s been flinching at sudden violent movements.

Also sitting around the table are a collection of rebels, Fundy, Jack, and Purpled among them. Opposite Wilbur is Niki and her knight, Puffy, who’s refused to leave Pogtopia now that things are getting violent. Ranboo is behind her, leaning on her chair. More rebels are scattered throughout the room, sitting on random cabinets or the ground, hanging off of their friend’s chairs and leaning on the walls. They packed as many people as they could into the room to hear what’s going on and come to a decision about it. Hearing the report again, seeing the looks on the faces of those around the room, George’s mind is set on something they have to do.

“We need to address the people,” he says, the first to speak since Wilbur finished reading. “We need to hold an assembly, in the nearest village- more than three-quarters of them support us, they’ll turn out, we’ll be well protected. And we need to talk about what’s going on, let the people know we’re still fighting.”

“You can’t guarantee any kind of protection at that,” Dream says. “Not for any of you. Any of you could be easily arrested, the king wants you above anyone else, he’s trying to draw you out.”

“Yeah, well, it’s bloody working, isn’t it?” Tommy snaps. “I agree with Big Man George, we can take care of ourselves and they need to know that we didn’t run off and hide the second the king brought out his big swords.”

“George, you’d be willing to talk?” Wilbur asks, and George nods his assent. He’s already got a speech forming in his mind, something good, something the people will listen to-

“You’ll need protection,” Dream says. “A big event like this, the second the king gets word I’m on my way, along with my whole team and a whole bunch of other elite soldiers sent by the king. And my team doesn’t miss.”

“Evidently,” someone somewhere in the room mutters. There are plenty of people that aren’t thrilled with Dream’s smiley mask becoming a common face around the ravine, but one harsh glare from George usually has them keeping their thoughts to themselves. This is the glare he levels around the room now, cold gaze hidden behind his goggles.

“I will say it again,” he says slowly. “Anyone who has a problem with Dream takes it up with me.” His magic is roaring in him, telling him to defend, defend someone else this time. It’s still a relatively new feeling that he’s getting used to.

No one speaks up. He nods to Dream to continue.

“You’ll need to be there in full force, and you’ll need to prepare to be arrested, most likely violently,” Dream finishes.

“Which we’re willing to do,” Wilbur says firmly. “If anyone has problems, they’re welcome to stay here.”

No one has problems. This feels like the moment they’ve been building up to for years now; it’s all come down to this.

They continue planning for another hour, everyone tossing ideas back and forth before they come up with a solid plan. They’re well into the early hours of the morning now, having started around midnight when Dream first showed up and Purpled brought them the report. Wilbur calls the meeting to a close and everyone disperses to get some sleep, a few of them hanging back. Niki tugs Tommy and Tubbo along with her, the two boys having wanted to stay and bother Dream more, as they do. Wilbur and George both thank Purpled for the report, and he nods with a grin before scurrying out of the room. George turns to see Dream waiting.

“Alright,” Wilbur says. “What is it?”

“I’m going to be there,” Dream says. “Probably in full armor, with my whole team. I’m the one assigning jobs- who do you want going after who? Because we’re going to be trying to take your leaders down again. Technoblade is free reign, I can’t stop him-”

“We’ll handle Technoblade,” George says stiffly. “Send Sapnap after me. You go for Wilbur, we’re not having him arrested.”

“You’re sure?” Dream asks. “I don’t want you getting hurt. Or arrested.”

“I can handle Sapnap,” George says with a grin. “Just make sure Wilbur doesn’t get taken out.”

“I can take care of myself,” Wilbur mutters, rolling his eyes.

“And Tommy?” Dream asks.

“Not coming,” Wilbur says quickly. “At least, not coming openly. He and Tubbo will be disguised, there as back-up. I should probably let the gremlin know now, or he’ll have my head tomorrow-”

“Alright. Thank you, General.”

He and Wilbur exchange a quick handshake and the general stalks out of the room. Dream turns to George, who raises one eyebrow.

“I’m serious,” the knight says. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“And I’m serious when I say I’ll be fine,” George says. “I keep losing fights against you because my magic doesn’t know how to defend against you, apparently. It works plenty fine against Sapnap.”

Dream tilts his head slightly. George (obviously) can’t tell what his face looks like, but he assumes it’s confusion. Curiosity, maybe.

“Did you figure out why it doesn’t work with me?” he asks, and George shrugs.

“It seems plenty keen on defending you, just not against you,” he answers. “I’m pretty sure I didn’t know you before, or anything, but there’s really no way for me to be certain, unless-”

And Dream reaches up and lifts his mask.

“Oh,” George says. Dream is… fuck, he’s like, really hot. Shit. George can feel his face getting red. There’s a scar running from his hairline to his jaw, diagonal across his face, but that’s not what catches George’s attention. That would be his eyes, golden and practically glowing.

“Hi,” Dream says, holding out a hand. “I’m Clay. I go by Dream, and I wear this stupid smiley-face mask because of-”

“Your eyes,” George says. “They’re breathtaking.” He slowly reaches out and takes Dream’s hand, and Dream’s face goes red. “Oh my ender, I made you blush!” he crows triumphantly. “Finally! Finally, holy shit-”

“Shut up,” Dream says, still clutching his hand. He rubs his face with the other, hiding an embarrassed grin.

“No, I definitely don’t recognize you, but- have your eyes always been gold?”

“Gold? No, they’re- they’re green- shit, right, you’re colorblind-”

“Ender, I can’t believe you forgot that-”

“Does that mean my sweatshirt looks piss yellow?”

“It does, it absolutely does, I can’t stand it-”

They bicker back and forth for a while longer before Dream leaves, needing to get back to the palace before nightfall. Wilbur finds George waiting in the cave entrance ten minutes after Dream’s left.

“Ender, you’re whipped,” Wilbur snorts. George startles and nearly punches the other general in the face.

“Save it,” he snaps, and Wilbur laughs.

The next day seems to pass in a blur, preparations, spreading the word (quietly) about their assembly, trying to rest up before it happens. The anticipation settles in heavy waves around the whole rebellion, escalating when Technoblade shows up and nearly gets shot by three different people.

“Sorry, I’m sorry!” Ranboo echoes. Techno managed to avoid all three arrows coming at him, but that isn’t stopping him from being grumpy about it.

“Save it,” Techno mutters. “George- where’s my brother?”

“Here!” Wilbur says. The two generals approach Techno quickly, knowing that it’s probably urgent.

“Dream’s a spy, right?” the pig hybrid asks, and both Wilbur and George burst into laughter.

“Yes,” George says, recovering quicker. “Yes, Dream’s a spy. I cannot believe we forgot to tell you that-”

“It’s fine,” Techno snorts. “He’s got himself goin’ after Wilbur and Sapnap goin’ after George are your big rally. That sound right?”

“Just like we planned,” Wilbur confirms. “Don’t worry, Techno.”

“I never worry,” Techno replies easily. “See you later.”

“Ender, I hate him,” Wilbur mutters, flipping off his brother’s back as he leaves. George rolls his eyes and turns back to Ranboo to reassure him that no, Techno isn’t going to kill him for accidentally shooting at him.

The sun rises on the day of the assembly. The rebels walk to the nearest village, rather than ride, all of them disguised. Wilbur finishes his lecture to Tommy and Tubbo just as they see the village coming up. Tommy will be in charge of everyone waiting as back-up; all the minors of the group have been assigned under him, neither Wilbur or George wanting them to get arrested. Niki and Puffy are the only adults with them, Niki to heal and Puffy to guard.

The people are already assembled in the town square, yelling chants that Pogtopia made up a long time ago. They part easily for the rebels, recognizing George’s goggles and Wilbur’s tall stature. He wears his beanie like a crown, and George couldn’t be more proud of his fellow general. Fundy and Jack walk behind them, swords drawn and held loose at their sides, as they make it to the podium. Wilbur climbs up first, nodding to George.

“Good people of Manberg!” Wilbur yells, and the crowd goes silent. “Thank you for joining us here today! We are here to condemn the recent actions taken by King David the Second and explain what has happened! General Not Found-”

George steps up onto the podium, and the people cheer. They fall silent as Wilbur raises one hand.

“General Not Found was recently exposed for his true identity- Prince George Davidson, the rightful heir to the throne of Manberg! It is here that we state our true goal- getting him on the throne in his father’s place, to free magic users and the common folk alike!”

Wilbur steps down, leaving George on the podium alone. He grins and begins his speech-

“Our absence is easily explainable- a mage that Pogtopia cares about very deeply was unjustly arrested by the king and interrogated, by means of torture, about our location. He did not give us up, and the past weeks have been spent attempting to rescue him.”

He moves on to talking about how much they care about the people- pretty words that don’t reveal any of their plans, how they’re going to go about taking the king down, just words that reassure the people they’re not going to stop fighting.

It’s working. George isn’t a politician for nothing, he was raised to talk like this. He’s just glad he’s putting it to good use.

He manages to finish his speech before his magic starts going haywire. Excellent- they’re here. He hears the clopping of hooves and the clinking of armor. The people aren’t scattering, they’re moving to cut the knights off. George turns and sees Dream at the front, leading what must be an entire regiment of knights brought in by the king; at least four dozen of them, all headed for the rebellion. Dream’s crew are the only ones on horses, thankfully, and George makes eye contact with Sapnap rather than Dream.

“General Not Found!” Dream calls, his voice formal. “Fancy seeing you here!”

“Wish I could say the same, Sir Dream!” George calls back. “I see you’ve brought your posse! Hello, Sapnap!”

“Georgie-poo!” Sapnap calls.

“Get them,” Dream says, loud enough to be heard over the crowd, and the fight begins.

George isn’t able to focus on anything else happening in the fight, because Sapnap is running right for him. He takes off into the trees, his magic rising and falling as Sapnap gets closer and George pulls ahead. Eventually, once he’s sure they’re out of range of the village and he’s not going to hurt anyone else or reveal himself, he stops running. Sapnap is nearly upon him and then his magic explodes.

It blasts the knight back at least fifteen feet, and he hits the ground hard. It continues stirring inside of him, letting him know the fight isn’t over. Sapnap pulls himself up, and George draws his sword.

“Sapnap,” George greets curtly.

“George,” Sapnap replies. “Good to see you again.”

They both have an agenda. Sapnap’s is fighting, George’s is talking. They pace around each other in a wide arc, each clutching their weapons tightly.

“You didn’t tell them,” George says. “About my magic. The castle, I mean. You know damn well that I have magic, I’ve been using it against you long enough, why have you never told any of them?” 

Sapnap looks at him oddly, for just a moment, before turning and hurling his hand at a tree. Something slams against it, a ball of flame, and when George looks back at the knight there’s fire dancing in his eyes. 

“You’re a mage.” 

“A fire mage,” he replies. “Not a full mage. Blaze hybrid ancestor, somewhere down the line.”

“Holy shit,” George says.

“Yeah,” Sapnap laughs. “So-”

“Why haven’t you joined the rebellion?” George asks.

“What?”

“We could use someone like you. We can keep you safe. You’ve been living in the palace all this time?”

“I’ve been safe,” Sapnap shrugs. “Sam knows. A couple others, some of my friends, they know.”

Something clicks in George’s head, something Callahan said a long time ago about a mage in the palace. It wasn’t something George picked up on at the time, but it was clearly in reference to a fire mage somewhere in the knights.

“You know Callahan?” George asks after a moment. Sapnap startles.

“Yeah,” he says slowly. “Holy shit, he was your assistant, wasn’t he?”

George nods, grin forming on his face.

“And… Alyssa?” Sapnap asks. “Do you know Alyssa?”

“Ender, shit,” George says, laughing. “Yeah, Callahan and Alyssa, they were my two best friends in the palace- they both know you’re a mage?”

“Them, Sam, and Ant,” Sapnap confirms. “And now you. That’s it.”

“So, what now?” George asks, looking down at his sword. “You’re welcome to come with me. Join us.”

Sapnap looks, for a long time, like he’s going to consider it.

“You know,” he says eventually. “I wanted to break your mage out of there every second he was in. But all I have is the fire stuff, there was nothing I could do.”

“Sapnap,” George says.

“Maybe someday,” Sapnap replies. “For now, just- go, I guess.”

“Okay,” George says, and Sapnap turns and runs, back toward the village. George’s magic quiets, just for an instant, before rising back up again. He turns and follows Sapnap, needing to check on those at the village, make sure everyone’s okay, and he’s not prepared for what he sees.

“Technoblade!” someone in the crowd yells. “The blood god is here!”

“Shit,” Wilbur mutters. If Techno’s here, there’s no way they’ll all get away, even if Techno’s secretly on their side. He brings his sword down at Dream again, pretending to be fighting him; he has no doubt that Dream is grinning under the mask.

“Fall back!” Wilbur yells. They can fortify at the ravine, hole up, they have plenty of supplies, they’ll be safe there. Dream knocks him down and pretends to strike at him, stopping his axe before it even gets close to Wilbur’s head.

“No!” Techno yells. “Down with the government!”

“What?” Wilbur yells. Techno throws Dream off him none too gently.

“I’m fuckin’ sick of this,” Techno says as he pulls Wilbur up. “I’m fightin’ on your side.”

“Thank you,” Wilbur says with a grin. “Technoblade is with Pogtopia! For the rebellion!”

“For the rebellion!” Techno echoes, and there’s a rousing cry from all around them.

Even with Techno on their side, there’s still at least forty other soldiers fighting against them. Punz and Ponk are leading the arrests, not going so far as to kill anyone yet. Most of the people have run, a few of them staying with the rebels to fight, but there’s no way they’re all getting out of this.

Of course, Wilbur thinks, he really needs to stop counting his family out.

There’s a great beating of wings coming from above him. He looks up and covers his eyes with one hand to block out the sun, squinting up at the figure as it descends.

Philza lands on the ground, two blades drawn, his great grey wings spread wide. He’s got his familiar green coat and striped bucket hat, and he looks absolutely pleased to be in time for the fight.

“Hey, kid,” he says loudly. “Heard you needed some help from good old Dadza.”

With both Techno and Phil there, the Blood God and the Survivor, the fight’s essentially over. Wilbur regroups with Fundy and Jack, watching as Phil and Techno drive the soldiers off. Dream nods to Wilbur, once, before gathering Punz and Ponk and taking off, Sapnap joining them as they go. Wilbur can’t see George, which means the other general is most likely fine.

“So this is my grandfather,” Fundy snorts, and Wilbur wraps an arm around him.

The people have come out to see the fight, now, Phil and Techno effortlessly taking down soldier after soldier. Nearly a dozen soldiers follow Dream back to the capital city of the kingdom. The rest are ruthlessly taken care of by the father-and-son duo.

When the fight is over, the rebels take off, not waiting around to celebrate. The people cheer for them as they go, and Wilbur laughs as he waves. George meets them with the back-up team on the edge of the forest, Tommy impatiently waiting.

“Who’s got injuries?” Niki is yelling instantly. Wilbur and Tommy make eye contact, and Tommy shoves through the crowd, obviously spotting the giant wings of the person running up just behind Wilbur.

“Dad!” Tommy practically screams, leaping on top of his father. Phil catches him and laughs, and Wilbur turns back to allow him to wrap them both up. Techno stands just to one side, never one for blatant physical affection, but they know he’s hugging them in spirit.

“It is very good to see you, Phil,” Wilbur says as he pulls back. “What took you so long?”

“I needed to make a proper dramatic entrance, didn’t I, mate?” Phil says with a laugh. Tommy hits his arm.

“You dramatic theatre kids!” Tommy cries. “I swear, it’s this whole family-”

Which, okay, Wilbur can’t really blame him. They are a very dramatic family.

“Philza!” George calls, approaching quickly. He’s got a wide grin on his face. “Nice of you to show up!”

“Nice you to have me!” Phil calls. “I hear you needed help?”

“We always need help, with your kids,” George says, and they both laugh. Tommy looks incredibly offended. Tubbo and Niki both rush up, clamoring to talk to Phil, who treats them both as his own kids. Soon the entire rebellion has swarmed them. Wilbur isn’t entirely pleased about it- they’re too far out in the open. He starts trying to guide people back toward the ravine, and George seems to get the idea and starts helping him.

“You can all talk to Phil later, get inside!” Wilbur yells. Most everyone listens to him, the exceptions being Tommy and Tubbo.

“Did you hear that I was arrested, Mr. Philza Minecraft?” Tubbo is asking eagerly. “Your son beat me up!”

“My son did what,” Phil says sharply, whirling on Techno. Tommy laughs harshly, grabs Tubbo’s hand, and drags them off.

“I wasn’t getting my cover blown,” Techno says with a shrug. They all know there’s deeper reasoning, but Phil ruffles his hair.

“Come on, neither of you are very inconspicuous,” Wilbur snorts. Bright pink hair, giant wings- not many other people they could be. “George?”

“You debrief, I’ll take guard,” George says. “Sapnap let me go without a fight, in case you were wondering. He’s been talking to Callahan and Alyssa. I don’t know how much he knows.”

“Alright,” Wilbur says with a nod. He knows damn well that George is taking watch so he can be the first to see Dream when the knight arrives, but he’s not about to call the other general out on it. “Phil, let’s introduce you to the Rebellion.”

The castle is in chaos.

Dream can hear people running around in the hallways outside, probably getting the surviving soldiers to the medical wing. Technoblade and Philza were ruthless- Dream guesses he’s lucky Techno seemed to know he was on their side.

The king is furious. Dream has never seen him this mad, not even weeks ago, when they were in this same room and the king’s lost son had just escaped from the dungeons. He’s pacing back and forth, chewing every single one of them out for not knowing about Techno’s planned betrayal or Phil’s sudden arrival. The king’s personal guards are getting a majority of the blowback for the first, Dream’s team for the second. Bad is hiding in one corner, there just because he has to be.

Contrary to the last time they were here, everyone is sitting up, paying attention. The king’s already close to throwing them all in the dungeons, claiming if he can’t trust Techno, he can’t trust anyone.

And then, to make matters worse, Schlatt enters the room.

“Oh, did we not know about Technoblade?” Schlatt asks with a grin. “Guy’s been with them the whole time, this isn’t a recent development, can’t believe you didn’t put two and two together.”

“What?” the king snarls, turning his gaze from his guards to Schlatt. Schlatt is completely unfazed. “How on earth did you know that? And why didn’t you say anything sooner?”

“You never asked,” Schlatt shrugs. “And General Soot and his second-in-command, the kid- they were adopted by the winged guy that came to help them out. The adventurer. Philza. You know who else was adopted by Philza?”

Dream… should have put two and two together. The connection is glaringly obvious now- Wilbur Soot, Tommy, and Technoblade are brothers. The Blood God is notoriously violent, but according to Bad, when he arrived at the castle, nobody really questioned it. Ender, they should’ve seen it coming.

Once again, Dream thinks about how glad he is that he’s on Pogtopia’s side.

The king throws some things, yells at them a little bit more; Schlatt stands in one corner and looks amused the whole time. Eventually, the king leaves, his personal guards following him. Bad manages to hang back, sliding into the seat next to Dream once the king is gone.

“What do you want, Schlatt?” Dream asks, eyeing the heir. If Schlatt knew about Techno, does he know about Dream? Based on the look being sent his way, the ram hybrid at least suspects.

“Who was going after my cousin today?” he asks, still watching Dream.

“Me,” Sapnap pipes up. They haven’t had time to talk, so Dream hasn’t been able to ask what the look on Sapnap’s face meant when he rejoined the group after chasing George. “He got away. Ran.”

“Of course he did,” Schlatt snorts. “Wanted to save his own skin. Tell me, did any of those kids get involved with the fighting? Did they let their child soldiers do the work for them?”

“No,” Dream snaps, probably too quickly. “They didn’t. I didn’t even see Soot’s second-in-command.”

Which is true. He knows Tommy was on the outskirts of the fight, waiting to lead the back-up team. He knows they didn’t let the kids get involved.

“I didn’t see any, either,” Punz offers. Dream glances around the room- his three knights are all on the edge of their seats, glaring at Schlatt. They don’t know why Schlatt’s looking at their captain like that, but they’re prepared to defend him.

And he left them? He joined Pogtopia over sticking with his team?

He can feel something decidedly not good stirring in his gut, a little voice in the back of his mind calling him a traitor, and Schlatt makes some other remark he doesn’t catch before stalking out of the room.

“Dismissed,” Dream says, his voice hoarse all of a sudden. He clears his throat. “Make sure schedules are updated, then take the rest of the day off.”

Punz and Ponk salute before leaving the room. Sapnap leans back in his chair. Bad shifts nervously next to them.

“What?” Dream asks.

“George has magic,” Sapnap says bluntly. Which- yeah, Dream knows this. He figured Sapnap knew, too, based on what George has told him.

“Okay, and?” he says. Bad coughs. Sapnap laughs. Dream doesn’t get the joke.

“Dream,” Bad says. “I love you, but you are really, really bad at this.”

“Bad at what?”

“Muffin, Dream, Sapnap just told you that the guy you’re supposed to be fighting has magic, which you really shouldn’t have known, or you would’ve told everyone else.”

Oh. Oh, shit, fuck, Sapnap knows now, doesn’t he- wait, but Sapnap knew and never told anyone, so what-

“Okay,” Dream says slowly. “What’s going on here?”

“Let’s go to Sam’s office, see what he and Ant are up to,” Bad suggests, only it’s not a suggestion. Dream sighs and gets up, following the two of them out. It’s not often that they’ve got a leg up over him, and he can tell that they’re milking it for all it’s worth.

There are already several people gathered in Sam’s office when they arrive. Skeppy is sitting at Sam’s desk, Karl on top of it. Ant is in cat form, high on a shelf, watching the room. Sam is talking quietly with George’s former assistant, Callahan, and a maid that Dream knows Sapnap is friends with and who he’s pretty sure is called Alyssa.

“Alright!” Bad says loudly, closing the door behind him. “The room has been soundproofed, so we don’t need to worry about anything, thank you Sam.”

Sam mimes raising a glass toward them.

“What is this, Bad?” Dream asks. Sapnap looks like he already knows.

“Well,” Bad. “Right after you got back, Sapnap came and found me, talked to me about some stuff. The Badlands Coalition would like to officially join the Rebellion.”

“I- hold on,” Dream says. He points to Callahan and Alyssa. “Are they part of the Coalition now?”

“We’ve been in it since the beginning, mate,” Callahan says. “The Rebellion, I mean.”

“Who do you think got Techno into the palace?” Alyssa asks. “Hell, who do you think helped George run away in the first place?”

“You’re the other spies,” Dream says with a grin, realization dawning on him. Callahan’s grin is all the confirmation he needs. Dream turns to Sapnap. “And you?”

Sapnap grins sheepishly and holds out one hand.

It bursts into flame.

“Oh, what the fuck,” Dream says, but he’s still grinning. He’s not going to hold the knight’s secrets against him; he’s kept plenty of secrets, too. “You’re a mage?”

“Fire mage,” Sapnap corrects him. “Not a full mage. I’m not part of the Rebellion, but- I’d like to be.”

“Well, then,” Dream says with a grin. “I guess I’ll let them know. Six new members inside the castle.”

They’re in the endgame now. The Rebellion’s going to win this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comment and i will love you forever


	8. Mvmt III, Part 3: Spies and Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aid comes in unexpected forms. The endgame begins. Schlatt remains confusing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a few things-
> 
> first, aj_is_anxious made [ a super awesome art piece ](https://twitter.com/AJ_is_Anxious/status/1346897160730656768) for this story and you should totally go check it out!!! i can’t stop looking at it hjfdgjk
> 
> second, you might have noticed that this work is now part of a series- there will be a sequel!!! i’ll also be publishing some prequel-type stuff & other adjacent works so if you’re interested, make sure to subscribe to the series! (it’s free, and you can always unsubscribe late-)

Pogtopia was immensely pleased to hear about an entire coalition inside the castle on their side. They were even more pleased to hear that the Badlands Coalition includes not just one, but three magic users- Sam, Ant, and ‘someone Dream trusts with his life.’ It was near midnight when Dream showed up to inform them, most of the rebels rubbing sleep from their eyes, but when he broke the good news they all looked much more awake. George, still not entirely coherent, had thrown his arms around Dream as he grinned. When he pulled away, his face was bright red. Under the mask, Dream’s was the same.

Now, a day later, Dream’s trying to find some way to get Ponk and Punz on their side. This is his team, and he really wouldn’t like to be fighting against them. The king wants them hunting for Pogtopia, but Dream claims that they need another day to recover from fighting Technoblade and Philza (even though he got his team out of there as fast as possible). They go to the arena instead of doing anything important, just to spar, pretending it’s practice for taking down the rebellion. In reality it’s an excuse for them to mess around and have some much-needed stress relief.

Dream is in the middle of a spar against Punz; Sapnap and Ponk are duelling on the other side of the arena. Ponk’s sword goes flying, distracting Punz for a moment, and Dream is able to disarm him. The other two make their way over at a jog, both grinning.

“Good one,” Dream says, shaking Punz’s hand. “Sapnap? You want another try?”

Before Sapnap can respond, the king storms into the arena, his guards following him. Schlatt is with them, grinning widely; Quackity looks guilty.

Dream sheathes his sword and turns to meet them. Upon seeing Schlatt, both Punz and Ponk tensing up, preparing for a fight. Sapnap puts his sword down. The other two do not, stepping forward to have Dream’s back. Ender, Dream loves his team.

“What’s going on?” he asks, wiping the sweat from his brow. The king coming to the arena is not normal- the last time Dream saw him here was the last time he and Techno dueled, though right now he doesn’t want to remind the king of anything to do with Technoblade.

“I have heard word of a traitor amongst your team, Captain,” the king says stiffly. Dream’s heart drops. Punz almost starts forward, but Dream holds out both hands to keep the three from doing anything stupid.

“I trust my team with my life, Your Majesty,” he says, his voice low. Schlatt’s grin gets wider. Quackity’s face falls deeper. “None of them would betray me.”

But he would betray them, apparently.

“He may not betray you, but he has been lying to you,” the king says, and he raises one finger and points at Sapnap. “Your friend is a mage.”

Dream, slowly, turns back. Sapnap’s eyes have gone wide, all the color draining from his face. Punz and Ponk both turn as well, staring at him in shock.

“Sapnap,” Dream says, his voice filled with warning. He’s trying to convey to Sapnap that he needs to run, he needs to go, he needs to get out- “Is this true?”

“It’s true,” Sapnap says, swallowing roughly. His eyes are darting everywhere, trying to find an escape route. “I’m a fire mage.”

“And you have been keeping secrets, lying to keep your position as a knight, when in reality you should have been arrested long ago,” the king hisses. “Guards! Seize him!”

A few of the other knights step forward. The king is looking at Dream, waiting for him to order Punz and Ponk to do something, but Dream is silent. He doesn’t think he’d be able to bring himself to speak anyways, and he doubts the other two knights would do anything. They’ve both shifted in front of Sapnap, blocking him from the king’s guards.

Dream is fully prepared to turn back and fight them himself, because he’ll do anything to protect Sapnap and that includes exposing himself as a rebel. Luckily, he doesn’t even need to- there’s a cry of “Sap!” and then what appears to be a smoke bomb thrown down amongst the knights. Dream can see Callahan and Alyssa, running through the bleachers surrounding the arena. He turns while a second bomb is thrown and the knights are distracted and shoves through Punz and Ponk.

“Go to Pogtopia,” he says, grabbing Sapnap’s shoulders. “Get out of here, tell George I sent you, you’ll be okay-”

“Dream,” Sapnap says calmly, and Dream sees his hands completely covered in fire. “I’ll be okay, brother.”

Dream hesitates for a moment and hugs Sapnap tight. He can feel the flames extinguish as Sapnap hugs him back, and then his best friend turns and runs.

“After him!” the king howls as a third smoke bomb is thrown down. Dream grabs Punz and Ponk and gestures for them to follow him as the knights disperse and chaos reigns across the arena.

“What in the living ender is going on?” Punz snaps the second they’re out of sight.

“Did you know?” Ponk asks. They’re both grinning, awe in their eyes. Okay. This is already going considerably better than he thought it would be.

“I just found out a few days ago,” Dream says, shaking his head. “Um. Funny story. I’m actually-”

“Part of the rebellion?” Ponk guesses.

“In love with the lost prince?” Punz offers.

He hates them. He hates them so much.

“Yes and no,” Dream says, and something twists in his stomach. “I’ve been working with them for a few weeks. Sapnap just joined. Technoblade’s been with them this whole time. It’s because we know, we know the king is corrupt and that the prosecution of magic users is wrong and-”

“Dream,” Ponk says, suddenly serious. “Are you asking us to join the rebellion?”

Dream takes a deep breath.

“Yes.”

There’s a moment of silence, then,

“Cool,” Punz says with a shrug. “I’m in.”

“Really?” Dream asks. “Just like that?”

“We follow you, Dream,” Ponk confirms.”You’re our captain.”

“Okay,” Dream says, somewhat startled. “Awesome. In that case-”

“We need to go after Sapnap,” Punz says. “If there are guards following him, he’ll lead them right to the Rebellion.”

“And they won’t be prepared,” Dream mutters. “Right- get to the horses. We pretend we’re going after him to arrest him. Let’s go.”

“Yes, sir,” Ponk says, and the two both salute.

The stablehands let them go instantly, passing off the reins to their horses with ease. Dream can feel Spirit itching to race ahead, but they wait for Punz and Ponk’s horses.

The other knights follow Dream’s lead as he races through the streets, the woods, trying to get to Pogtopia as fast as possible. He can hear the sounds of a fight as they draw near, and he knows that his team behind him is ready to defend.

It’s complete chaos in the woods. There are at least a dozen knights, all of them attacking, backing the rebels up to the entrance of the ravine. Dream picks out Alyssa on the ground, cut leaking blood on her stomach. Callahan is attempting to drag her back, and George is covering both of them against at least three knights.

Sapnap’s fists are ablaze, but he clearly doesn’t really know what he’s doing. He’s avoiding lobbing fireballs, probably out of fear of hitting any of the rebels. The knights seem to be focused on him, and Dream watches as Tommy rushes out of nowhere and a huge blast of red magic sends four of them sailing back through the air.

“Hey, bitch!” Tommy says to Sapnap excitedly. “Welcome to the club!”

“Dream!” George yells. Dream rolls off Spirit, trusting them to get out of the way of the fight, and goes to help his friend. George doesn’t need it- his magic blasts two knights off of him as he runs his sword through the third. “What are you doing?”

“Helping you!” Dream replies. There’s a cut on George’s forehead that makes him frown. “Where are Techno and Phil?”

“Kingdom of Pride.” George turns and slams his sword against the helmet of a man sneaking up on him. Dream draws his own sword, and the sound of metal on metal clashes out as he blocks two strikes at once. “Getting supplies from Eret.”

“You sent your two best fighters at once?”

“Didn’t think we’d be getting fucking invaded,” George snaps. “What the hell happened?”

He ducks as Dream swipes his sword over his head, knocking down a knight, and when he pops back up his magic knocks back another one coming for Dream. Dream’s almost shocked at how well they fight together- but they get along so well in every other aspect, why wouldn’t they be good together at this?

“Don’t let any of them get away!” Wilbur yells, charging out of the cave. Puffy is behind him, sword already drawn. “They know where we are, take them prisoner!”

“I thought we said no more kidnapping,” George mutters, and Dream wheezes. George’s face flushes.

“You’re so cute,” Dream mutters, meaning for it to come out as a joke, but it ends up sounding incredibly fond. George’s face gets even more red.

“Less flirting, more fighting!” Callahan yells from behind them.

There’s another few moments where the roar of battle is all Dream can hear, and then Tubbo’s voice cuts through the din.

“Get down!” he yells. George grabs Dream and pulls him to the ground, covering him with his own body. Dream only thinks for a moment that he should be the one covering George, he should be the one protecting, and then there’s a wave of light blue magic that covers every single one of the rebels. A different wave of purple magic takes down everyone still standing, cutting them down like marionettes.

There’s nearly two dozen knights, all unconscious or dead on the ground. George shoves himself off Dream, and it takes him a moment to realize that the blue magic is flowing back into George’s body, the purple into Tubbo’s.

“Holy shit,” someone says, and then both George and Tubbo collapse. Dream lunges forward to catch the prince, who grabs his arms and stumbles to try and keep himself up.

“I’m fine,” George mutters, wrapping his arms around Dream’s shoulders. He gets his footing and then his knees buckle again. “Too much magic at once, I’ve never done that before-”

Dream turns to see Wilbur holding Tubbo up, Tommy rushing over. Sapnap rushes to Callahan and Alyssa, making sure they’re both okay. Puffy sheathes her sword and starts dragging two of the unconscious knights inside.

“Dream,” George says, and Dream glances down. His arms are still wrapped around George’s waist, and George’s face is impossibly red. “You can let go, I’m fine.”

“Absolutely not, I’m taking you to Niki,” Dream insists. George is about to respond when Dream scoops him up bridal-style. He yelps, arms scrambling to clutch at Dream’s neck, and he wheezes with laughter.

“Farming for aws, I see?” Tommy says as they walk past. Tubbo is leaning heavily on him for support, grinning. Dream has absolutely no idea what the words that just came out of Tommy’s mouth mean. Kids these days, he thinks, and then he remembers that he’s only five years older than Tommy.

“Yes,” George responds simply. The two teenagers exchange a grin. “You okay, Tubbo?”

“I’m fine,” Tubbo says brightly. “I’ve never done that before, it took an unexpected amount of energy. I saw your defense, that was very good, how did you do that?”

“No idea,” George replies with a grin. “Wilbur, can you get Tubbo some energy back? He’s gonna pass out in a few minutes if you don’t.”

“Says you!” Tubbo retorts, sounding betrayed, his face darkening in mock horror. “You’re literally also going to pass out in a few minutes- oh, hello.” Wilbur ruffles his hair and starts singing. Dream can see energy literally flowing back into Tubbo, and the mage lets out a little sigh. “Thanks, Wil.”

“Can you do that for him?” Dream asks, trying to gesture to George in his arms.

“Only once,” Wilbur says, shaking his head. “Or else I’ll lose all my energy, too.”

“Is all magic this picky?” Dream mutters to George as he carries him inside. There are more wanted posters hanging up- he can see at least three for Techno and two for Phil.

“Yes,” George says with a snort. “My magic likes you, by the way.”

“I’m pretty sure we already knew that,” Dream responds. Fundy and Ranboo both burst through the doors, out of breath.

“Heard there was a fight,” Fundy pants. Ranboo’s eyes are wide as he clocks George in Dream’s arms.

“Fight’s over,” George snorts. Ranboo looks like he’s about to say something, and one stare from Dream (or rather, Dream’s mask) shuts him up. He nods politely as Ranboo scrambles to hold the door open for them and starts making his way down the ravine to the medbay.

“What do you mean, it likes me?” he asks, keeping his voice low. There are people watching them and George’s face is remaining a steady shade of red.

“Normally it only wants to protect me. Then suddenly you show up and it’s all defensive of you, and now it’s defensive of everyone. You’re what triggered it, though.”

“Oh.” He doesn’t really know how to respond to that. What would he even say? “Cool.”

“Yeah,” George snorts, looking away. “Cool.” The rest of the walk is uncomfortably silent.

“What the hell is going on out there?” Niki demands the second they’re in the medbay. “Wilbur comes in shouting about a fight and then Puffy runs out-”

“We’ve got a lot of prisoners,” George says. “Hey, Niki, is there a reason I feel insanely tired all of a sudden?”

Dream explains what happened as George buries his head in Dream’s chest. He can feel his own face heating up now as Niki looks at the general worriedly.

“Set him down, let me look him over,” Niki orders. Dream tries to get George down on one of the beds, but George tightens his grip around Dream’s neck. Dream looks to Niki for help, but she’s just giggling.

“George,” Dream says sternly.

“Yeah,” George mutters, letting go. He slides one hand down to latch onto Dream’s wrist. “Don’t go anywhere.” Dream remembers Tubbo saying something about passing out in a few minutes, and it’s obviously about to hit.

“He just expended a lot of energy,” Niki explains. “He’ll be okay after a rest.” She glances down to George’s vice grip around Dream’s arm. “You’re welcome to stay, I’ll grab you a chair.” She does just that, George slipping into unconsciousness a moment later. A few minutes after that, Sapnap and Callahan stumble in, supporting Alyssa between them. Punz and Ponk are close behind them, both sporting a few bruises but looking pleased.

“Hi,” Sapnap says awkwardly. “I’m Sapnap.”

“I assumed,” Niki says with a laugh. “Your hair’s a little-”

Sapnap glances up, and Dream wheezes. His hair is literally smoking. The knight curses and puts it out, Callahan and Alyssa both laughing. Alyssa winces immediately after, blood soaking her shirt.

“Come in, let me heal you up,” Niki insists. “Alyssa, it’s so good to see you, it’s been so long-”

“Is he okay?” Callahan demands, looking at George. Niki rushes to assure him that it’s fine, but that doesn’t stop Callahan from looking worried.

Once she’s made sure Alyssa isn’t about to die and taken care of the other three, Niki leaves to go find anyone else that was involved with the fight. She comes back ten minutes later, looking displeased.

“We’ve got twelve knights that are prisoners now,” she says. “And twelve more that are corpses. We don’t even have a proper jail cell or anything.”

“I’m sure we’ll think of something,” Dream says. “As for the dead- we can bring them back to the castle? They need a proper burial, and their families need to be alerted-”

“Who would bring them back, though?” Sapnap asks. “We’re sort of all traitors now.”

“Punz and Ponk aren’t,” Dream points out. “Even if Schlatt knows about me, which I think he does, they told the stablehands we were going after you.”

“We could do it,” Punz says, nodding. “If you have a spare wagon, we could load them up-”

“We don’t really have spare anything,” Niki points out, and Callahan and Alyssa both laugh.

“Do we really need our wagon, though?” Dream asks. “Techno and Phil are-”

“With Eret,” Niki nods. “Yes, we can send them a message to get another wagon. Alright, that’ll be good. Puffy and Wilbur are currently tying up the prisoners, but I’m going to need bed space for them, if people are alright- new members, we can find bunks for you, I’m sure Wil would be more than willing to help.”

“Thank you,” Sapnap says honestly. “Seriously. You have no idea how much this means to me.” He glances at the other two knights. “To all of us.”

“Any enemy of the king’s is a friend of ours,” Niki says honestly. She offers Punz and Ponk another reassuring smile as she gets to work healing Alyssa’s stomach. The two knights both stare at her in awe.

“Hey,” Dream says, catching Sapnap’s attention. “You’re okay?”

“I’m okay,” he confirms. “Didn’t get hurt, didn’t hurt anyone else.”

“I meant about getting found out.”

“Oh.” Silence for a moment. Everyone else in the room is very clearly trying to pretend they’re not eavesdropping; they’re all awful at it. “Well. I’m here. Everyone I care about is on my side. I think I’ll live.”

The two exchange a grin, and Dream tries to ignore the dread pooling in his gut.

George wakes up and can practically feel the tension seeping out of his bones. The first thing he sees is Niki’s magic surrounding him. It’s obviously being the thing to wake him up, because he still feels exhausted. The second thing he sees is Dream’s mask, staring down at him.

“Creep,” he mutters. Dream wheezes. He realizes he’s clutching Dream’s hand and hastily pulls his own hand back, heat making its way to his face.

“How are you feeling?” Niki asks. George glances over to see Alyssa in the bed next to him, Callahan at her side; Sapnap is reclining on the bed at his other side, grinning at him.

“Fine,” George mutters, attempting to sit up. “Everything’s okay?”

“Everyone’s fine, Georgie,” Sapnap coos. George glares at him. He realizes he isn’t wearing his goggles and his hands instantly go to his eyes.

“Hey,” Dream says, his voice soft. “Here.” He hands the goggles over. “I’ve been taking good care of them for you.”

“Thank you,” George says, offering a smile back and shoving his panic down. Sapnap gags.

“Do you deal with this all the time?” he asks Niki.

“Yes,” Niki replies flatly, and then immediately breaks into a grin. “You should’ve seen Dream carry him in here.”

“I’m sure it was disgusting,” Sapnap agrees. George can feel his face growing redder. Damn feelings.

“Well, I’m good to go,” he insists, slipping the goggles back over his eyes. He can’t even see Dream’s face, but he knows the knight is giving him a look. He gives a look right back and swings his legs over the side of the bed. His magic swirls deep, telling him to not get up; he does anyways. Immediately, he sees spots, and he can feel hands on him keeping him up.

“Be careful,” Niki says. “I don’t think you’ve ever focused on using that much magic at once before.”

“I don’t think so, either,” George grumbles. He lets Dream help him up and his vision clears, his legs growing steadier. “I’ve gotta go find Wilbur. Thanks, Niki.”

Sapnap jumps up, and George almost groans. “I’ll come with,” he announces.

“What if you didn’t?” George asks. Sapnap’s grin is all he needs to know the answer to that.

Niki clears him to go with the promise that he’ll stop by later so she can make sure he’s doing okay. He tells Alyssa and Callahan that he’ll be back to talk to them later (they both get up and give him very tight hugs; ender, he’s missed them).

“How long was I out?” he asks. He’s steady on his feet now, but Dream is still hovering anxiously behind him. It would be annoying if it wasn’t so cute. Wait-

“Few hours,” Sapnap answers. “Enough time for Wilbur to give us a whole interrogation and for Ponk to find himself a kid.” George blinks once, completely confused. They don’t actually have any kids here, Tommy is the youngest-

“Purpled,” Dream says instantly. “One of the knights woke up while being dragged in, Ponk saved his life or something and they’re best friends now, apparently.”

“I think Punz is jealous,” Sapnap confirms, nodding seriously. George just barely manages to refrain from rolling his eyes.

“Niki didn’t want to heal you because she thought you needed the rest,” Dream tells him. “She’s right, you know, you’re working yourself too hard.” George feels some emotion flare up in his chest- anger, maybe? Frustration?

“Says you,” he snorts. “You’re the one that’s been going back and forth every night for ender knows how long.”

“It hasn’t been every night!”

“It’s been a lot of nights, Dream,” Sapnap cuts in. “Hey, Georgie-”

“Don’t call me that-”

“-has he shown you his face yet?”

“Oh, ender,” Dream mutters.

“Yes, actually.”

“WHAT?! When? Dream, this is a betrayal-”

“It’s just because I’m that much cooler than you, Snap-map-”

“What does that even mean?”

“If you call me Georgie, I can call you Snapmap-”

“What the hell is going on?” Wilbur asks. George stops mid-argument, whirling on his fellow general. They’re halfway between the generals’ office and the medbay. Dream looks like he’s about to run.

“A very important discussion,” George says. “What did we do with the prisoners?”

“Turned one of the barracks into a dungeon,” Wilbur replies easily. “We’ll just have to cram for a bit until we figure out what we’re doing with them. Alyssa and Callahan okay?”

“Both fine,” George responds. “Are you okay?”

“Niki already checked me, don’t worry,” Wilbur says dismissively.

“She did,” Dream confirms when George turns to him. He nods, satisfied.

“So.” Wilbur claps his hands together. “We have a lot more people working for us now. We lost some spies but we still have plenty, I hear?”

“Five,” Dream confirms. “The royal advisor and his assistant, the royal artificer, and the royal mage and his familiar.”

“Bad, Karl, Skeppy, Sam, and Antfrost,” Sapnap adds. “So don’t- hurt any of them.”

“We’re not planning on hurting anyone other than those that are trying to hurt us,” Wilbur clarifies. “And we’re probably going to need them relatively soon. Do you think your knights could get a message to one of them tonight when they go to drop off the bodies?”

“Easily,” Dream confirms.

“Excellent. I’ll start writing up a letter for them, then.” He’s got his authoritative voice on, and George knows he’s about to start giving orders. “If you could find them and let them know, Sapnap, so they can come up with a plan for that. Dream, stick by George, I don’t want him overexerting himself before our next strike, it’s going to be soon. George-”

“I do what I want,” George says instantly. Wilbur looks down at him seriously. He crosses his arms.

“Do you have any idea what our next move is?” Wilbur asks with a sigh. George glances at Sapnap- he seems to get the idea and leaves with a quick salute. Dream doesn’t budge, so George keeps talking.

“The checkmate,” he says. “We get inside the castle. All of us.”

If Wilbur’s surprised, he doesn’t show it.

“Alright,” he says eventually. “I’ll make sure to mention that in the letter. Check on Tommy for me, will you? He should be outside.”

“Sure.”

They part ways, Wilbur heading back to their office and George going for the ravine’s exit. Dream follows him, long legs easily able to keep up.

“You’re sure you’re doing okay?” Dream asks, his voice laced with concern.

“I told you, I’m fine,” George snorts. “Are you? You didn’t get hurt at all?”

“Not a scratch,” Dream confirms, and George nods. He doesn’t completely believe it, but if Dream was around for long enough while he was out, Niki probably checked him over.

They make their way through the iron door and immediately hear the sounds of a commotion outside. George jogs out- his magic isn’t going off, so he isn’t worried. Dream, however, draws his sword, pushing him back a bit as they break through the vines. George is about to snap that he can defend himself when he sees Tommy facing off against none other than Quackity, his stupid cousin’s right-hand man.

“What’s going on?” he asks. They’re clearly at a standstill- Tommy has his sword drawn and Quackity has dark blue magic swirling around his outstretched fists. Tubbo is standing in the middle, purple magic at his fingertips, clearly trying to prevent a fight.

“I’m here with information,” Quackity says quickly. “Tubbo told me I could come here if I needed to.”

Which is how George finds himself staring down Quackity with Wilbur, Tommy, and Dream at his side. Tubbo is standing in the doorway, sulking after he insisted they could trust Quackity and none of them believed him.

“Sorry, we’re not normally like this with people who want to join,” Wilbur says. “It’s just-”

“Schlatt,” Quackity interrupts. “I know.”

When Wilbur and George met, it was in Schlatt’s house, just after the prince ran away. Quackity had been there, too- hell, George’s goggles were a gift from Quackity. He trusts the guy, more or less. Wilbur, Dream, and Tommy clearly do not.

“It’s nothing personal,” Dream says. “But I trust Schlatt about as far as I can throw him. Maybe less. Definitely less.”

“That’s fair,” Quackity agrees. “I don’t- I mean, I do trust him. But also not really. It’s weird?”

“Quackity,” George interrupts before he can make it even worse for himself. “You said you have information?”

“Right,” Quackity nods. “Schlatt says he’s on your side.”

Wilbur and George exchange a look. Dream wheezes.

“Bullshit,” he says. “He just ratted out Sapnap to the king. No way he’s on our side.”

“I have a letter,” Quackity says with a grimace. “I don’t know, he’s doing his politician thing, he told me not to read it-”

He pulls a folded-up piece of paper out of his pocket and hands it to Wilbur. Wilbur unfolds it, scans it quickly, and his frown deepens.

“‘General Soot and Prince George,’” Wilbur starts. George rolls his eyes. Tommy looks like he’s about to say something, but Dream shushes him. “‘I know you do not trust me.’”

“No shit!” Tommy blurts. Dream whacks him on the shoulder. Offended, the kid looks to Wilbur, who very clearly tries not to smile.

“Wilbur,” George says impatiently.

“Right, sorry. ‘I know you do not trust me. I respect this completely. If it’s because of the half-mage amongst the captain of the guard’s knights that I exposed, I have a perfectly reasonable explanation. There was no other way for Captain Dream to reveal himself to his team in a way that would result in their arrival in Pogtopia. Even with Technoblade and Philza on your side, you need real, proper fighters. And now you have them! You’re welcome.’ That self-entitled bastard-”

“Wilbur,” George says again. “Is that all?”

Wilbur shakes his head and continues reading. “‘I am sending my right-hand man and most trusted friend to deliver this letter. Please do not kill him.’ Oh, lucky for you, Quackity-”

George sends the mage a look to reassure him that no, they were not going to kill him either way. Quackity doesn’t seem all that concerned.

“‘I also have a proposal: I know you in Pogtopia value democracy as well as the monarchy. If you can guarantee me a spot in the government, I can get you into the castle.’”

Wilbur sets the letter down. Tommy looks like he’s just been handed the world’s greatest gift. George’s magic is telling him to trust Schlatt in this regard. He’ll get them into the castle. There’s something else there, though, a little warning to proceed with caution.

“George?” Wilbur asks.

“Good,” George confirms, swallowing harshly. “That’s it?”

“That’s it. Signed with his official title, all thousand words of it, the prick.”

“We wait for Techno to return,” George says. “We’ll discuss the next step. Quackity- does the king know about the rest of Dream’s team?”

“He assumed when they didn’t return,” Quackity confirms.

Dream seems to pick up on what George is saying. “Could you take the bodies of the knights he sent after us back to the palace? And let Schlatt know we’ve got a dozen prisoners.”

Wilbur looks somewhat offended that Dream is making decisions without the approval of either general, but George is proud of the initiative. It’s what he would’ve said, anyways.

“I can do that,” Quackity nods. “Do you want me to say anything else to Schlatt?”

“Tell him we’ll think about it,” George says. “We’ll find some way to be in contact with him when we come to a decision.”

“Alright,” Quackity says.

“Big Q,” Tommy says quickly. “Would you like to be officially part of the Rebellion? The invitation does not extend to J. Schlatt.”

“The invitation shouldn’t extend to Quackity, either,” Wilbur snaps. Tommy raises one eyebrow, clearly not caring. George and Dream both try to hide their laughter. “Fine. Big Q?”

“Yeah, sure,” Quackity says with a shrug. Tubbo gives Tommy a pleased look, and Tommy flashes him a thumbs-up.

Quackity leaves shortly after, and Wilbur calls Pogtopia’s most important members to the meeting room. Techno and Phil get back with another three wagons’ worth of supplies as they’re getting situated, and the meeting is briefly postponed as they marvel over the new weapons and armor.

“Eret sends their regards,” Phil announces cheerfully, sporting a new netherite sword. “Say this cost them a pretty penny, so try not to damage it all right away.”

“It’s netherite, I don’t think we can damage it,” Wilbur scoffs.

“We’ll find a way,” George mutters to Dream, who wheezes in response.

George puts a few of their more trusted rebels in charge of sorting through the rest of the materials as Wilbur drags the others back to the meeting room. Wilbur stands at the front of the room, as per usual, and everyone else sits around the room. Wilbur voices to George that he isn’t entirely sure about bringing in Dream’s team, but Dream insists that they’ll be able to help.

They end up with Techno standing at the door, constantly on guard even at the bottom of the heavily-fortified ravine. Phil is sitting next to Tommy and Tubbo, looking immensely proud. Niki, Puffy, Fundy, Ranboo, Jack, and Purpled are also sitting around the table; Sapnap, Punz, and Ponk are scattered around the room. George stands off to the side like he normally does, near the head of the table but not quite at it. Dream takes his place sitting on the cabinet next to him and being frustratingly taller. Callahan and Alyssa both settle themselves near the two; everybody in the room is waiting for Wilbur to speak.

The general catches everybody up on what Quackity told them, and George allows his mind to wander. He doesn’t really want to send Callahan and Alyssa back into the castle, not now that they’ve gotten out, but they’d be good at sneaking in and have plenty of friends on the inside. He also knows that Tommy will want to be at the front of the charge, but Tommy’s a kid, and the castle’s security has doubtlessly been raised. They’ll need Tubbo, certainly, but Tubbo is also a kid with traumatic experiences in the building, which could be a mess and a half, both for the plan but more importantly for Tubbo’s mental state. And if Tubbo goes down, Tommy goes down, and as much as George hates to admit it, Tommy is one of their best fighters.

As for actually getting them in- they need a distraction. Something to get the king out of the way, make him less suspicious, like-

Like a false surrender. He and someone from inside the palace go, claim they’re surrendering without the rest of Pogtopia knowing about it, George can claim he’s seen the error of his ways but he couldn’t get out, his mother will be so overjoyed that she’ll insist on trusting him, his father won’t question it-

“-General?” Wilbur asks. Dream nudges his shoulder, and George nods. “What were you thinking? For getting us in, I mean.”

Tubbo teleports Alyssa in through the servant’s entrance. She opens the doors for the rest of the Rebellion, Wilbur can cast an invisibility spell and get them in, their new people on the inside- the Coalition- they keep the knights distracted-

As for him, he meets with Schlatt under false pretenses, takes someone with him- Dream would insist on coming with, but he needs Dream taking down knights, not pretending to take down Schlatt; not Sapnap, not Punz or Ponk, then- Techno. Techno, who is famous for taking the side of the underdog, and Manberg is certainly becoming an underdog with the way things have been heading.

The rest of the plan falls into place in George’s head, and he carefully explains what they’re going to do. By the time he’s done, the room is grinning back at him. He can feel Dream’s proud gaze even from under the mask. They revise, create back-up plans, and by the time dawn is approaching, they have something that just might work. Purpled leaves to carry the message of surrender to Schlatt, along with a second message for Quackity explaining what they’re going to do. George and Wilbur watch him go, and sunlight begins to creep through the trees.

“Mark my words, George,” Wilbur says. “Before the next sun rises, this kingdom will be back in the hands of the people.”

“So that’s the plan,” Quackity finishes. Bad narrows his eyes. It’s dangerous, and there’s a lot of room for people to get hurt. But overall, it just might work.

They’re in Sam’s office. Schlatt is standing in the doorway, arms crossed, and Bad has been watching him ever since Quackity assembled the Coalition to explain Pogtopia’s plan.

It’s General Not Found’s plan, apparently. Prince George. His former friend. He trusts George, and he trusts that the people George has been with for the past four years can get the job done. He does not trust Schlatt, who has a grin on his face, the kind of grin that speaks trouble.

“Cool,” Ant says with a shrug. Skeppy puts a hand on Bad’s shoulder, and Bad knows they’re thinking the same thing. Schlatt’s up to something.

“Cool indeed,” Schlatt says. “It’ll start soon. You’d better all be ready.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	9. Mvmt IV, Part 1: Sunset

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plan is enacted. Things go beautifully wrong and horribly right. George makes a choice.

Dream is not thrilled that he isn’t going with George.

“I’ll be perfectly fine,” George insists. “I can take care of myself. And I’ll be with Techno.”

Techno glances up upon hearing his name. Realizing it’s just George, he goes back to checking the armor on the horses.

The first wave of rebels was sent earlier in the morning, Sapnap leading them. Wilbur and Tommy took the second wave an hour ago. Dream will be leading the third, at the same time that George and Techno are meeting with the king and Schlatt under the guise of surrender. The waves are just to make them look less suspicious; they’ll be attacking all at once. Power in numbers, and all that.

George’s magic has been off the charts, and he doesn’t know if it’s just anxiety about what they’re about to do, or if it’s telling him that something is going to go seriously wrong. Either way, he feels like a bundle of nerves, and Dream isn’t helping.

“Just- be careful,” Dream says sternly, and George feels like he’s about to get another lecture. Luckily, the knight is cut off by Purpled riding full-speed toward them. Techno’s horses don’t even blink, fearless like their commander; Purpled’s horse skids to a stop next to George.

“Hey,” George says, raising one eyebrow. Purpled was part of the first wave, but if he’s here, there was probably an emergency. “What’s going on?”

“Word from the Coalition,” he says quickly. “Apparently the right-hand man of the king’s strongest ally just arrived last night, along with a hundred of his best warriors.”

“Fuck,” George mutters. If the king’s strongest ally is who it was when George was in the castle-

“King Jimmy?” Dream asks.

“From the Beast Kingdom,” Techno mutters darkly. Purpled nods, looking pale. The king of the Beast Kingdom is ridiculously well-liked and ridiculously powerful, as well as extremely rich. If they say he’s got a hundred of his best warriors, they mean a hundred warriors that are fighting for George’s head on a stick in exchange for huge sums of money.

“Wilbur wants to know if we call it off,” Purpled says. “We’ve got a majority for keeping it on, but Niki didn’t sound so sure.”

George looks between Dream and Techno, two of the strongest fighters that he’s ever met, and knows that they’re both fighting on his side. No matter what happens, they’re not going down.

A group is only as strong as its weakest link, but seeing Dream and Techno fight- seeing them spar just for the amusement of the rebels, knowing a majority of them could never even think of pulling off moves like that- well, it makes George feel more powerful. Seeing their strongest makes even the weak feel like they can conquer entire armies.

“Keep it on,” he says. Techno looks pleased. He can’t see Dream’s face, but based on how relaxed he is, he’s fine with it.

“Got it,” Purpled says, and with that, he turns his horse around and starts racing back. George can hear Dream’s intake of breath and know that the amount of lecturing he’s about to get has just increased tenfold.

“I’ll be perfectly fine,” George repeats. Dream glances around; it’s just Techno near them, the other rebels preparing inside the ravine. Techno isn’t paying attention.

Dream slips off the mask, looking dead into George’s eyes, and takes one of his hands. George can feel himself going red, and Dream puts the other hand on the side of his face. George’s heart stutters. His magic practically purrs.

“Be safe,” Dream says seriously.

He looks so concerned, so protective, and for just a moment George’s gaze flickers down to his lips before he returns the stare, and then Dream’s eyes are flickering down and back up, and then-

Techno clears his throat loudly.

“Am I interruptin’ somethin’?” he asks. George hurriedly pulls back, and Dream shoves his mask back down.

“No,” George says quickly, and his voice comes out a bit higher than normal. “No, uh- are we ready to go?”

“You tell me,” Techno grunts. Dream gives George’s hand one last squeeze and then rushes off to gather the third and final wave of rebels. He emerges a moment later, Fundy behind him. Fundy salutes, and George returns the gesture before mounting the horse Techno has waiting for him.

“Alright,” he says to the rebels now streaming out of the ravine. “Pogtopia- I’ll see you on the other side.”

“We’ll be behind you, General!” Fundy shouts, loud enough for them all to hear, and to the background of a great cheer, George and Techno turn and take off.

“Let’s go, Carl,” Techno mutters to his horse. “To the castle.”

The last time George heard Techno talking to one of his horses, Tommy called him out on it, and Techno nearly punched him in the face. He doesn’t comment.

When they get to the streets of the capital, the people are silent. Most of them are waiting, watching. George has a white flag at his side. He doesn’t pull it out, doesn’t meet any of their eyes, but he can see a few familiar faces slipping through the crowds. He makes eye contact with Ranboo, and the enderman hybrid disappears a moment later.

The gates are open. Schlatt is waiting for them, arms spread, grin wide. George doesn’t smile back. He knows Techno is glaring.

“My dear cousin!” Schlatt says loudly. George dismounts his horse, a few stablehands rushing forward. They stop at Techno’s gaze as he hops off Carl, and then the two horses turn and gallop straight back through the city. George wants to mutter something about their ride out of here, but he knows they’re not leaving this place; one way or another, from here on out, this castle will be where he resides.

“Schlatt,” George greets through gritted teeth. There are people everywhere, all of them with huge swords, completely swarming the place. Bad is standing just behind Schlatt, and George is glad to see a familiar face. He makes eye contact with the advisor, and Bad nods, barely noticeable.

“Welcome back, welcome back,” Schlatt says with a grin. There are eyes on them and his magic has never been more active, yelling at him to get out, get out, get out. He pushes it down and keeps walking, Techno at his side. Schlatt leads them through the halls to the throne room, where the king and queen are both waiting, along with a fair amount of knights. Quackity and Bad’s assistant, Karl, are both on the outskirts of the room, pacing around.

George glances over. Techno is tapping two fingers against his side. Two minutes, and the rebels make themselves known.

“George,” the king says formally. He swallows his pride and sinks down onto one knee. Techno follows.

“Father,” he replies stiffly. “Technoblade and I have come to negotiate the terms of Pogtopia’s surrender.”

“Excellent,” the king says. “I’m glad to see that you’ve come to your senses. Does General Soot know of this?”

“No,” Techno says. “He doesn’t-”

“Silence,” the king says, raising one hand. “I was not talking to you, traitor. I was talking to my son.”

Well. Good to see he hasn’t been disowned. That makes what comes after this all the more easier. Techno doesn’t look pleased- he’s practically seething.

“No, General Soot doesn’t know. We snuck away, and we are willing to help take down the Rebellion from the inside, with a few conditions.”

“Name your conditions, then,” the king says. He beckons with one finger, and Bad and Schlatt both go to his side. He whispers something to them. Bad nods, sends George a look that clearly says to tread carefully.

“Leniency for the members of the Rebellion that are not yet adults when it comes to incarceration,” he says. “Leniency for Technoblade to leave the kingdom without a warrant. And leniency for myself to regain my place as the heir to your throne.”

He talks slowly, stalling for time. Techno taps one finger against his side. Schlatt whispers something to the king, who murmurs something in response.

“I suppose that could all be granted,” the king says, turning back to them. “On the condition that we are allowed to prosecute the rest of the Rebellion as we see fit.”

George swallows harshly. His magic tells him no, stop, go back, get out, and he shoves it down as hard as he can. This isn’t real, he reminds it, he’s playing a role, and if he strikes out now they’re completely done for.

“Of course,” he says. “I will gladly accept these terms.”

“Very well, my son,” the king announces. “Your position as my heir, had it ever been under question, is completely and fully reinstated-”

There are noises from outside, shouting, thundering footsteps. George tries to hide his grin. The king stops talking and gestures to one of the knights, who goes to open the doors.

“Rebels in the castle!” one of the knights running in shouts. “They’ve completely taken over the courtyard, they’re breaking inside-”

“Now!” George yells. He can see his mother and father disappearing out of the room, Schlatt close behind, a few knights trailing after them. Only seconds after they’re gone does Quackity strike out, the same spell that Tubbo used the other day, meant to take down any opponents standing. He drops to the ground and sees Techno, Bad, and Karl all doing the same. Quackity’s wave of dark blue magic doesn’t knock the knights unconscious completely, but it knocks them over enough for Techno to start going around and finishing the job.

“George, go!” Bad yells. The next phase of the plan- George takes down his father. Dream should be meeting up with him soon, he trusts Dream to find him- perfect, there they are, Dream, Tubbo, and Wilbur all rushing into the throne room. Most of the knights are back on their feet, all of them going after Techno. Wilbur runs to help his brother.

“Have you seen Tommy?” Tubbo shouts at George, then immediately turns and runs out of the room. Ender, these kids are going to be the death of him. George sees Quackity run after him, thankfully, and Bad and Karl both rush up to Dream just as George catches him.

“You’re okay?” Dream asks, grabbing him by the shoulders and looking him over carefully.

“They didn’t even touch me,” George says, rolling his eyes. “You?”

“Never been better,” Dream says, and he looks like he means it. He’s bouncing on his toes, and George gets it- the adrenaline of the promise of a fight. Dream already looks like he’s gone through war, but he doesn’t have a scratch on him. He turns to the other two.

“I’m going for Sapnap,” Karl says quickly. 

“Keep an eye on Schlatt, will you?” Bad adds. “I’m going to find Philza.”

“We will,” George promises.

“Be careful,” Dream says at the same time. George grabs his hand and drags him away, heading for his father’s bedroom; if he’s holing himself up anywhere, it’s there. It’s time to end this.

“Dream!” Wilbur greets as Dream approaches their troops, having just finished the journey from Pogtopia. He and Jack are at the front of the group, the rest of the rebellion behind them, spreading out to predetermined locations in the streets surrounding the castle. They don’t look suspicious, not when half the kingdom’s out after hearing that General Not Found and Technoblade were on their way. Jack shakes the general’s hand before heading off to the group he’s leading. Dream remains at Wilbur’s side.

“Are we ready?” he asks. Callahan and Alyssa should already be inside, waiting to send them the signal. Ranboo jogs up before Wilbur can answer.

“George and Techno just entered the city,” he pants. “Everyone’s good?”

“Waiting for the signal now,” Wilbur confirms. “Dream- I’ve gotta say, I didn’t trust you at first, but I’m glad you’re fighting on our side.”

“I’m glad to be here,” Dream replies with a grin that he knows Wilbur can’t see.

“Just know, if you hurt George, it’ll be you that Pogtopia targets next.”

Wilbur pats him on the shoulder and walks off. Ranboo laughs.

“Oh ender, I am so sorry,” he says quickly when Dream slowly turns toward him. “Please forget I laughed at that.”

Dream stares. Ranboo runs off. He knows he shouldn’t feel pleased about that, but it’s a little funny, especially with all the kids like Tommy running around and calling him a bitch every hour of the day.

Speaking of, he can see Tommy a few streets down, his small group at the ready, Sapnap at his side. They’re going to be the first to enter the palace, Tubbo already preparing an invisibility spell nearby. Their goal is just take down as many people as possible to let the rest of the rebels in.

There’s a hush over the crowd, and even Tommy’s boisterous joking to cover up Tubbo’s magic quiets down. George and Techno ride through the castle gates, both the perfect picture of composure and grace. Dream waits as they dismount their horses and walk inside, one, two, three counts, and gestures for Sapnap and Tommy to go.

He can see them slipping around to the gates in the back, disappearing as they climb over, like ghosts in the night (even though it’s the middle of the day). Tubbo meanders over to Dream, looking a bit exhausted.

“All good?” Dream asks.

“Gimme a minute,” Tubbo mutters, leaning up against Dream’s side. “You’re getting me to Sam, right?”

“Right,” Dream confirms, and the kid doesn’t make any effort to move. He stands there for a few minutes longer before Tubbo pulls himself up. Wilbur’s singing is beginning to echo through the ranks. It’s almost time.

It’s getting louder. And louder, a familiar song that Dream barely recognizes but the people seem to, singing about lands once lost, about not giving up hope. He can feel Wilbur’s magic working, giving them all strength, giving them the resolve to fight. The people are singing and the people are cheering, and Sapnap comes sprinting down from the palace to open the gates.

“NOW!” Dream yells, and his group charges. They don’t hesitate, swords at the ready as they dive through the gates, and Dream can see some of the people rising to aid them. He hangs back, Tubbo at his side, and Wilbur seeks them out. His first job is to get the two to Sam; his second job is to find George.

Luckily, Sam and Ant are both waiting in Sam’s office, Skeppy pacing back and forth worriedly. He leaps up the second Dream enters, and Dream shoves the two magic users inside.

“No, I haven’t seen Bad,” he says to Skeppy, and the artificer mutters some words that Bad definitely would not approve of.

He waits patiently while Sam restores energy to both Tubbo and Wilbur, and they turn back to Dream.

“You’re all clear, Sam, right?” Dream asks. “Don’t let anyone out of the castle. Not until the king is dethroned or dead.”

“We’re clear,” Sam says, and he’s grinning. “Ender, I’m excited. I haven’t left this place in years.”

“It’ll be good,” Ant says with a grin. “Go kill the king, Dream.”

“He might not kill him,” Skeppy points out.

“If it were me, I’d kill him,” Ant retorts. Dream drags Wilbur and Tubbo out of the room before he can get caught up in an argument.

They make their way to the throne room, knowing there’s bound to be chaos there. Dream fights his way through the halls, keeping the two rebels behind him even though he knows they’re perfectly capable. He sees these people as his family, now, and they don’t get to take that back- he’ll defend them to last. He thinks he made that choice the moment he met George.

George, who is standing in the middle of the throne room. There’s bloodshed all around, Techno going up against what must be two dozen knights. Tubbo yells something about Tommy and then runs out; Wilbur goes to Techno. Dream rushes to George, checking him over carefully- he didn’t want George anywhere near the king on his own. And, yes, Techno was there, but for some reason he can’t stand the thought of George even getting a scratch on him- thankfully, George seems fine.

“You’re okay?” he asks anyways, needing to make sure.

“They didn’t even touch me,” George says, and Dream knows he’s rolling his eyes under the goggles. “You?”

“Never been better.”

Bad and Karl both take off, Dream making them promise to be careful. George grabs his hand and starts running, and he has no choice but to follow.

They’re going for the king’s bedroom. Dream has no idea what to expect when George slams his shoulder into the door, but he still laughs when George bounces back.

“Do you want me to?” he asks.

“Yes, please,” George mutters, rubbing his shoulder. Dream lines himself up to smash the door open, and then twists the knob.

It’s not even locked.

“Ender- fuck,” George mutters, and Dream laughs again as he swings the door open, axe at the ready.

Immediately, he puts himself in front of George, both arms out. There are three knights in the room, none of whom he recognizes, along with the king and queen. Taking the knights down is almost easy. Dream bashes the first one on the head with the butt of his axe, spins around a strike from the second, and knocks the legs out from under the third. He drops to the ground and swings up; second knight down. The third goes running out of the room, straight into George, who holds out his sword and clotheslines him, sending him to the ground.

Which leaves Dream, George, and the king and queen.

“Mom,” George says, his voice low, and Dream can’t even begin to imagine what’s going on inside his head. “Get out. Please.”

The queen looks back and forth between those in the room before nodding her head and rushing out. George catches her arm as she goes, and he must be sending her a look, communicating something, but Dream keeps his eyes on the king. He doesn’t trust this one bit.

“Well,” the king sneers. His eyes are on his son; Dream keeps himself firmly planted between the two. “Here we are.”

George closes and locks the door as his mother leaves, then grips his sword a bit tighter. Dream can sense the anxiety rolling off of him in waves, but the prince doesn’t show it.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” George says firmly. His hands are beginning to shake, but his voice doesn’t waver. “Either you step down and hand me the throne, or-”

“Or what?” the king asks. “You kill me? It’s treason to kill a royal, punishable by death, even in a coup like you’re leading now. You kill me, and you’re executed.”

Those are the laws of the land. Even if they have the people on their side, the king’s allies will never abide by it. They’ll call for George’s death, and they won’t stop until they get it. Dream knows it, George knows it, the king knows it.

“I won’t kill you, then,” George says with a shrug. He sheathes his sword. “But I’m not leaving. You’ll have to kill me to get out of this room, and what happens then? I’m the heir to your throne.”

Dream shifts slightly, a low noise crawling its way out of his throat, making sure the king knows damn well he’s not going to lay a finger on George. But the king, weaponless, grins at them.

“I won’t kill you, then,” he parrots, and the next thing Dream knows he’s being blown back through the air. His back hits the wall hard, his axe clatters out of his grip, and he slams face-first down onto the wall, barely managing to catch himself. George is crying out, and Dream can see the prince starting toward him, and then a more concentrated blast has George’s knees buckling.

The king is standing there, grin on his face, royal blue magic flowing from his fingers.

“What in the everloving ender,” George spits, picking himself back up. Dream gets to his feet, grabs his axe, and they’re facing off again, only this time he and George on the defensive. “You have magic?”

“Of course I have magic,” the king retorts. “Where do you think you got yours from?”

“Why did you outlaw it, then?” Dream asks. “So you could be the only magic user in the land?”

“I am powerful,” the king says haughtily. “I will not have any lesser mages attempting to usurp me, and I will not have the pitiful excuses of magic-users whose power is based on instinct banding together to take my throne.” He spits this last bit at George, his eyes practically glowing. George takes a step back, and Dream raises his axe.

“You cannot take me down,” the king finishes.

“We can try,” Dream snarls back.

He and George attack in unison, George’s sword flying out of its sheath to be met with a shield of defensive magic from the king. Dream’s axe manages to get one leg, and the king cries out. They’re pushed back, barely, as George’s magic flies out of him to block the king’s strike. They go back and forth, the king’s magic leaving bruises and streaks of blood where it scrapes their skin raw, violent to the last.

Dream feels something building in his chest as he sees George forced down onto one knee, pure anger, all directed at the king. He lunges forward, axe poised directly for the king’s head, but it doesn’t get there. Another wave of magic sends him flying back, and his head hits something hard and his vision goes blurry for a moment.

He can’t move. He’s pinned down, something is keeping him on the ground, and his vision swims back into focus to see George, sending blast after blast of magic at the king in an attempt to keep him back. The king is still grinning, one hand pointed at George, one at Dream. The pressure is pushing down on him, he still can’t move, and he bites his lip so hard he tastes blood to keep from crying out. He feels something in his chest that might be a rib cracking and barely manages to contain a yelp- George glances over anyways.

The momentary distraction is enough for the king to get him down. Dream can see George’s light blue magic flaring, attempting to strike back against the king, but it’s useless; the king is nearly on top of him now, and one foot hits George hard in the stomach.

“No!” Dream yells.

“Poor Captain Dream,” the king snarls, glaring at him. He kicks George again, and the prince curls in on himself, turning away from Dream. “You who betrayed me. All of you betrayed me- I will bring your general to the brink of death in front of you and parade his bloody body through the streets.” He punctuates each sentence with another kick to George, and at the end, he grabs George’s sword, lifting it high. “Let this be a lesson to you- you do not mess with the Kingdom of Manberg.”

George makes a choking sound as the king turns him over, sword raised, prepared to strike down, and Dream

sees

red.

He doesn’t know how he does it, but one moment he’s being pinned down by the royal blue magic of the king, and the next moment the room is filled with a neon green light. Something inside of him is roaring, seeing George on the ground, about to die, something in his chest is telling him mine, mine to protect, mine to defend, eliminate the threat, and he listens to it.

He channels whatever it is that’s taking him over through his body and sends it at the king; he goes flying off of George. Dream follows, poised in front of George’s prone form protectively, staring down the king.

“What-” the king starts. Dream doesn’t have time for games. He strikes out again, and again, and again, and the neon green light consumes his vision. He can feel it all over his body, inside and out, and it’s the most powerful he’s ever felt.

There’s more to the neon green now, light blue mixing in with it, twirling, and he can hear someone calling what vaguely sounds like his name. Somewhere in his mind registers that that much power comes with a price, and he remembers George and Tubbo and Wilbur all falling down after expending huge amounts of magic. The last thing he thinks before he blacks out is how glorious the neon green looks with the light blue that’s surrounding him.

George’s head is pounding. Every part of his body hurts, but there is no longer the royal blue magic of his father around him. Instead there is neon green, and as he manages to get himself to a sitting position, light blue. His magic is screaming at him, louder than when he was fighting his father, and it’s telling him to get to Dream.

Dream, who is almost on the ground, eyes rolling back into his skull as he passes out. George cries out and barely manages to catch him before he hits the ground, his magic swirling both inside his chest and out in an attempt to help.

He tries to channel as much of it as he can toward Dream, tries telling it to protect, and he barely manages to get a hold of it as he directs it toward the knight in his arms. It helps guide the neon green magic back to its owner- because of course it’s magic, what else would it be, but Dream swore up and down he didn’t have any.

Once he’s sure Dream is just unconscious and not dead, he wrangles his own magic back into him. It’s still telling him to be on his guard, but he doesn’t know why, because the king- his father- is clearly dead. There’s no blood, no visible injury; it was Dream’s magic that killed him and Dream’s magic alone.

George lets out a breath, tries to tell his magic to chill, and then he hears slow clapping from a back corner of the room. His head snaps up, trying to find where the noise is coming from, and then he hears the unmistakable voice of Schlatt.

“I didn’t think he’d be the one to do it.”

George looks around wildly and sees nothing. There’s an audible sigh, and then, “I’ve got an invisibility potion on, give it a minute to wear off.”

Great. He’s been here the whole time. He knows exactly what happened, he knows that Dream will have to die- unless George takes the blame, and he would, he’ll convince Schlatt to tell them it was him-

“So, Georgie. Now what?”

He wants to say something like ‘I literally hate you,’ but the words get caught in his throat. Every bit of him is worrying for Dream and for whatever Schlatt is about to do.

Schlatt seems to take his silence as an answer, and he slowly begins fading into view. He’s got a maniacal grin on his face, and George feels a spike of fear that he presses down. The king is dead; he is the king. Whatever Schlatt wants, he can do this.

“I’ll tell you what, George,” Schlatt says. “I thought it would be you to kill the king. I thought it would be you we had to execute. But this… this is even better.”

“What are you saying,” George snarls. Schlatt gives him a look. “Tell them it was me. Tell them I did it, let me be the one to suffer the consequences, then you’ll be the king, that’s what you want, isn’t it-”

“I don’t want to just be the king,” Schlatt says, sounding almost bored. “I’ve never liked monarchy. I want what you want- for Manberg to be a more democratic nation. Of course, I’ll still hold absolute power…”

“Schlatt,” George says, his voice low. “What do I have to do to keep Dream alive.”

It’s not a question. It’s a demand. Schlatt seems to get it.

“I want you to abdicate your throne and give it to me,” he says. “I’ll name you my heir and everything. You can keep both your title of prince and your pet knight around as your guard.”

And that’s… too good to be true.

“I’ll make a council of advisors and everything. You, Wilbur, Bad, Quackity, hell, we can even get Wilbur’s son on if he wants it, maybe even that Tubbo kid.”

This is not good. Something is going to go wrong. George shifts closer so that he’s sitting between Dream and Schlatt. He wants to get up, stand, be level with the opponent, but something is telling him to remain down. To protect Dream.

“And someday, there will be some grand quest. There’ll be something that’s a problem. It’ll look like a death mission, and no one will want to take it. And that’s where I’ll send Dream. He’ll fix the unfixable problem or die trying. And if he fixes it, that’s it, he’s free.”

George considers. If there is an unfixable problem, Dream would be the most likely to solve it, not matter what it is.

“What’s the catch?” George asks.

“No catch,” Schlatt replies, shaking his head. “I’m not a bad guy, George. I want a little bit of power and I’m willing to blackmail you into it, but you’ll still be the heir. You’ll be my closest advisor. Make up something for why you’re abdicating, I’ll make up an excuse for the king’s death.”

And that- that sounds like something. Schlatt’s grin hasn’t left his face at all this whole conversation, and George knows there’s more, he knows there’s going to be a catch to all of this-

“Deal,” he says.

It takes three days for Dream to wake up.

George is by his side the entire time. They set up shop in the throne room, with dozens of injured. Niki’s been doing her best to heal them all, but they have limited resources when it comes to medical supplies. She hasn’t touched Dream, saying if it really was magic awoken in him somehow, he may end up attacking her unconsciously. 

George announces the king’s death loudly, and as word spreads through the castle, their opponents put down their arms. They return to their kingdoms, leaving Manberg and Pogtopia to pick up the pieces. George, with Dream in his arms, gathers his rebels around and announces that he’s abdicating the throne to Schlatt. He’s looking Wilbur dead in the eyes as he says it, saying that they’ll talk about this later. The others seem disappointed, but when Schlatt starts talking about how his first act is to establish a Cabinet and his second is to start providing protection for magic users, they push any harsh feelings aside.

Purpled, Ponk, and Punz, all sporting bandages and new battle scars and wide smiles, take more uninjured rebels to ride through the streets and announce to the people that Manberg is now free of the tyrant king’s rule. Techno and Phil, both mostly uninjured, make sure everything is okay before they both take off, disappearing into the first night after the king’s death. On the second night, Sapnap and George both holding vigil at Dream’s side, Wilbur approaches them.

“Tubbo is leaving with Sam and Antfrost soon,” Wilbur tells them. “To train. To learn the extent of his power.”

There’s a hole in one wall of the castle that Quackity is working on repairing. George has heard several versions of the story, but one thing is consistent- backed into a corner, Tommy somehow managed to feed Tubbo some of his power. Tubbo multiplied it tenfold, and created an explosion that took out nearly a dozen people and injured a dozen more.

“Good,” George says. “That’ll be good. Tommy’s upset?”

“Beyond pissed. Schlatt’s given him permission to be my official assistant, but won’t let him on the Cabinet until he’s an adult.”

George nods. That’s probably smart. Tommy is good, but he’s still a volatile kid.

Wilbur clearly has an agenda with being here, George can see it in his eyes. Sapnap is watching them both carefully; Wilbur glances to him.

George’s magic does nothing. “You can say it,” George says. “I trust him.”

Sapnap grins at him, and George smiles back. The smile drops when Wilbur speaks.

“What the hell happened?”

His voice low, George tells them everything. How the king had magic, how he and Dream fought back, how magic just exploded out of Dream. The deal with Schlatt. How he couldn’t let Dream die.

“I understand,” Sapnap says, gripping one of Dream’s hands. “I would’ve done the same.”

Wilbur looks pissed. Not at George, but at Schlatt. George can see the gears turning in his brain.

“Wilbur,” George says. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“I know Schlatt,” Wilbur hisses. “There’s more to this.”

George knows exactly what he’s saying. And his answer is yes.

“Pogtopia isn’t finished,” the great General Soot says. “It’s just taking a different form.”

He leaves shortly after, and a few hours later George can see him gathering Niki, Tommy, and Fundy around Niki’s workstation. They’re whispering in hushed tones, all glancing around nervously, and George knows that they’re planning.

Good. They’ll need to be prepared for whatever comes next.

Sapnap gets called away by Bad and Skeppy to do something. Karl stops by to bring George food. George leaves it next to the other meals he’s been brought, ignoring everything except the worry he feels for this whole fucking situation.

On the third day, Callahan and Alyssa come by. There are more people, rebels visiting, Ranboo wandering around and checking up on people. Callahan looks like he already knows what happened, but doesn’t want to say it. Alyssa’s eyes are stormy.

“I can’t believe him,” she hisses as she hugs George, referring to Schlatt. “Was it you or Dream?”

“Dream,” George whispers back, and for the first time he can feel tears forming in his eyes, so overwhelmed by everything that’s been happening. Ender, he probably needs a good therapist.

“Alright,” Alyssa says. “It’ll be alright.”

She’s lying, and they all know it.

They hang around for a while, all three of them sitting on the floor, and George laughs for the first time in days. It’s after one particularly loud laugh that Dream shifts, attempting to sit up, and groans.

“Get Niki,” George orders, and Callahan and Alyssa both rush off. George is at Dream’s side in an instant, gripping one of his hands.

“Hey,” Dream croaks out, blinking one eye open. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” George says, choking on laughter. “I’m fine, Dream, what the hell? You have magic!”

“I don’t know what the fuck happened,” Dream curses. “I don’t-”

Niki is there, shoving George back and shoving Dream down, magic already dancing at her fingertips. She’s got Dream sitting up in a matter of a few minutes, and the first thing Dream does is grab George and pull him into a tight hug.

“You’ve gotta execute me now,” Dream mutters into George’s shoulder. George wraps his arms around Dream’s shoulders tightly, buries his face in Dream’s neck.

“I made a deal with Schlatt,” he murmurs, and he tells Dream the whole thing. When he’s done, Dream just grips him tighter, and George’s magic is thrilled, because this right here- this is correct, this is how it’s supposed to be-

Niki tells them gently that Sam is here and they need to run a few more tests to figure out what the hell happened, why Dream apparently has latent magic that just reared its head. George reluctantly pulls away, and he sits at Dream’s side and clutches his hand the whole time that Sam and Niki are fretting around them.

“My best guess is that you’ve got instinctual magic of some sort that was buried very deep down and that I never noticed before,” Sam says with a huff twenty minutes later. “I don’t know how I kept missing it, but I’m assuming it’s from several generations back and you felt immensely strong emotions that awakened it.”

This seems to be a good enough explanation for Dream, but George is still confused.

“Sam,” he says quietly, before the mage leaves. Sam pauses and turns back. “Did you know the king was a mage?”

“Yes,” Sam says simply. “He threatened to have Ant and I killed if I talked. You obviously know that I’ve- been working here for a while. Anything to keep us alive.”

“I understand,” George says quickly. “You don’t need to explain anything to me. And-”

He pauses.

“Something else on your mind?” Sam asks.

“Do you know why my magic never reacted against Dream?” George asks. “Whenever I fight, normally it aids me, but with Dream it just… didn’t.” Dream is looking at him now. George pointedly avoids his gaze.

Sam holds out a hand. George takes it.

It feels like there’s someone in his mind, someone else’s magic poking around his chest, and his magic rises to push it back. It persists, and a moment later it retracts.

“I don’t know,” Sam says. “My best guess is that it just never saw him as an enemy.”

And George knows for a fact that it did, the first time they met Dream was the enemy, the first and second and maybe even third time. It took a while before he warmed up to Dream. It should’ve taken his magic a while, too.

“Thank you,” he says anyways, and Sam nods before wandering off.

Schlatt is crowned four days later. He names Prince George as his heir and creates the Cabinet only moments after the crown is placed on his head in front of a crowd of thousands of people. The Cabinet consists of George, Wilbur, Quackity, and Bad, along with a slew of people they choose to work under them. Schlatt’s second act, seconds later, is to declare the end of the prosecution of magic users, as well as the end of several taxes that Pogtopia had been protesting.

It takes a few weeks, but eventually, the kingdom reaches a period of stability. George spends most of his time in meetings, Dream trailing after him, both of them waiting for the other shoe to drop.

It never does, and that’s probably the worst part.

It doesn’t drop. It comes down slowly, crushes them, like ants under a boot. It comes in the grins Schlatt sends to George after meetings. It comes in the too-tight handshakes they exchange. It comes in the knowing looks whenever George’s father is mentioned. It comes in the suggestion that George’s mother remains in the castle, to which George quickly agrees.

“Be careful, love,” his mother tells him, on one of the occasions where he visits her. “There’s something coming. I can feel it in my bones.”

George can’t help but think that she’s right.

Something is coming. In the unresolved tension between him and Dream. In the way that Wilbur floats around the castle, almost like a ghost, a stormy look constantly on his face. In the way that fire dances in all of their eyes, not just Sapnap’s. In the way that Dream can’t seem to find a hint of magic in him no matter how hard he tries.

In the way that not once, not once, does George’s magic quiet. Be ready, it tells him, be ready.

And he is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> that's it! the beginning of part one! my eternal thanks and gratitude to everyone who has supported this story thus far <3  
> part two should be out very soon! make sure to subscribe to the series/user sub if you'd like to see more
> 
> come hang out with me on [ twitter ](https://www.twitter.com/andthentheybow) or [ tumblr ](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/andthentheybow) !!
> 
> as always, comments and kudos are immensely appreciated. <3


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